


Secrets Of The Shifters

by LightOfLanayru



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, Animalistic, Draconic - Freeform, Dragon Riders, Dragon Shapeshifters, Dragons, Friendship, Love, M/M, Other, Romance, Soul Bond
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2020-09-26 17:41:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 24,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20393605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LightOfLanayru/pseuds/LightOfLanayru
Summary: Dragons. Beasts of incredible stature, hearts of gold and the ability to bond their souls with a human. Very few are chosen to become the high elite of the Dragon Riders, but when they are chosen, the task to find their dragons can not be refused. Gavin finds this out the hard way, as does Hank when they stumble across two almost identical dragons in the highlands. There's a catch: These dragons are unlike any the village has seen before, eyes of firey ice and hazel stare back at them. They seem intelligent, knowing, and far more intimidating than the rest. For it's the secret they hold within that will change the world around them forever.





	1. Knightfall

"Come on, old man! Is that all you've got!" The brown-haired man grinned as he easily blocked the heavy swing of the iron sword with his own. The force shook his body and his red armor laced with gold shuttered with him.  
  
"Don't get too cocky, Reed!" Hank scolded him, bringing down another brutal blow. The man's silver and blue armor moved with him, albeit lacking grace, but the power he held was eminent. "After all, don't want to get another nasty scar across our face, do we?"  
  
"Oh, shut up!" Gavin bounded backward to avoid the blow. "That has nothing to do with my sword fighting." He wanted to roll his eyes, but they were too locked on target to do so. If Gavin were to take his eyes off of Hank for even a split second he knew it wouldn't end well.  
  
The sun beat down on both of them hard within the open courtyard. There were trees in the distance near the stone walls that surrounded them, but they were too far to be of any use in providing shade. It was almost noon and the sun was reaching its peak. It made Gavin feel weak, but the knight in front of him didn't seem to be phased by it. The only tell of Hank's distress were the drops of sweat beading on his forehead.  
  
"Oh, yeah. I remember." Hank quirked an eyebrow at him, easily dodging every slash Gavin had to offer. "You got into a spat at the tavern and got your ass handed to you." He brought up his sword up above his head where Gavin was shamelessly trying to aim for his head.  
  
"The bastard was almost three times my size! What the hell was I supposed to do?" Anger was obvious in the smaller knights voice. He gripped his sword with both hands and swung, again and again, hoping to land at least one strike against that damned silver armor. A dent would be good, even just a dent, gods give him something.  
  
  
Then boom, right against Hank's side. "Hah! I knew it! This is too easy!" He landed another blow.  
The armor didn't dent like he had hoped, but he landed a blow and that's all that he really cared about. While Gavin was in the midst of the excitement of his victory, Hank took the opportunity to answer Gavin's question and to teach him a bit of a lesson.  
  
Hank turned his sword around, taking the blunt hilt and ramming it into the unarmoured part of Gavin's side. The smaller knight's sword dropped from his hand and hit the stone beneath their feet, he crumpled in on himself as the wind was knocked out of him from the strike, he fell to his knees, then looked up at Hank.  
  
His face was contorted in frustration and confusion.  
"What the FUCK was that for?"  
  
"Because you have a habit of underestimating your opponent and you don't know when to quit." Hank told him, matter-of-factly as he picked up Gavin's sword and tossed it to the side before extending a hand to help him up.  
  
Gavin swatted at the hand and got to his feet himself, eyes lit with fire that could burn a hole in the older man's armor. He clutched his side tightly as the ache and pain continued to radiate through his body. That was definitely going to bruise and had it been an inch higher he swore it would have cracked his rib. Thank God for well-placed armor.  
  
"Was that really neccassary??" Gavin waved a hand at Hank. "Couldn't you just have told me that instead?"  
  
Hank closed his eyes as he shrugged holding up both the swords as he did so. "It wouldn't have had the same effect." He paused. "But regardless. We're done for the day. I've got to go check the stables then prepare things for the Kings arrival." Hank handed the sword back to Gavin which he took reluctantly.

Gavin struggled in saying he was ready as a swordsman, but the sharp burning in his side helped to keep his mouth shut. It was going to take some time for him to be able to fight out on the feild, but he was going to get there someday. He just needed a better strategy. He was lost in thought for a moment, knowing good and well that he missed a few of Hank's words, but he also didn't give enough of a damn to ask him to repeat anything.

"I'll be back at nightfall." Hank told him. "And if you need anything, be sure to find someone else to help you." He smirked slightly then slipped his sword into the shethe on his back. "And a word of advice." Hank's pause caused Gavin to raise his brow. "Make sure you keep your mouth shut at the ceremony tomorrow. It's an incredibly important event, and I can't have you fucking it up."  
  
"Okay, okay." Gavin lifted his hands and patted them downwards. "Look, I'm not going to screw anything up. I'm just going to participate, then I'm going home and probably going to sleep off the wound you gave me."

"_Wound_." The way Hank spoke was teasing, almost mocking, but he laughed once he spoke. "That's nothing but a little bit of toughening up, Reed." He gestured towards where he hit Gavin with the hilt of his sword. "You'll be stronger now."

"Sure," Gavin replied flatly. "Because that's how that works."

"Precisely." Hank winked and Gavin groaned in annoyance.

"If you're going, go on then." Gavin practically shooed the other knight before turning away from him and waving him off without looking back. He'd expected to feel a bit of guilt to build up in his gut as he walked away, but it didn't. Probably damaged from the blow. Gavin chuckled under his breath at the thought.

He walked out of the courtyard, and onto the dirt road that led into the small village where many of the small huts were made of cobblestone and on their tops they were laid with long branches held into place with a mixture of sap and mud. Some of them were spacious to account for the large beasts these crazy folk called their own.

He knew the king possessed one of these scaly beasts, but he couldn't quite understand why. What was the point? What was the_ bond_ that everyone talked about dragon riders having? Gavin scrunched his nose as he thought absentmindedly about it, his boot almost catching on a loose rock he noticed just in time, catching himself before he made a fool of himself. He was tired enough at this point that if he fell in this damn armor, he wasn't sure he'd be able to get back up.

But then his curiosity came back to the dragons as he saw three fly high above him. He paused, looked up and pulled a hand up to block the sun from his eyes.  
_What would it be like to have one?_  
He squinted to make out the shapes of the beasts, wings flapping with a power that ten men could only hope to achieve.

When they were out of eyesight he let his hand fall and with it, his eyes were back to the ground beneath his feet. He knew he wasn't a dragon rider, he hardly even liked the things. They were too big and once you're bonded with one. That's it. That's your's to care for until the day you die. It was far too big of a commitment for Gavin to make. Even though he was used to having the dragons around every now and again, he couldn't bring himself to interact with them more than he had to.

_I'd be royally screwed if I had to put up with one of them._

Gavin made it to his home, It looked a lot like most of the other's, but since he was a knight in training, his had a few separate rooms to it, even stairs that led up to a small loft above him. He pushed open the wooden door and before he could even kick it closed behind him he was shucking off his heavy armor, letting it lie in a heap on the floor near a small fireplace to keep the place somewhat warm in the winter.

He was far from worried about it right now. It was the beginning of spring and everything everywhere was heating up. It sucked, plainly put, but there was far more food in the spring, and if he had to eat salted meat one more time he was going to throw himself into the gorge.  
He threw off his last piece of armor and slipped into a pair of loose tan pants before standing in front of a small mirror to look at the large bruise on his side.

"_You'll be stronger now_." Gavin quoted Hank in the most mocking tone he could muster as he placed a hand over the bruise. It stung deep when he made contact with it and he immediately flinched away from his own touch.

He grimaced at his reflection in the mirror before poking at the bruise once more. Yep. Still hurt like a bitch. He hoped he didn't have to wear his armor to the ceremony tomorrow, but he had quite the habit of being on fate's bad side.

Gavin sat on the end of his bed, hoping to have a bit of quiet, but the three quick raps on his door told him otherwise. They'll go away. He reasoned, then leaned onto his back, letting his eyes fall closed as he was now hidden from the sun that blazed into his skin all morning.

Now it was five knocks, this time quicker in succession. Gavin let out a deep breath. "What?" He yelled, hopefully, loud enough for whoever was at the door to hear. They didn't. So they pounded on the door this time, hoping to get his attention.

He got up from his bed quickly, fueled with the frustration of being disturbed and he slung his door open, glaring at the person who'd made him get up.  
He stared at them for a few moments, then let some of the tension out of his shoulder's as he realized who it was.

"What do you want?"


	2. Unexpected Company

"Well, _that's_ certainly not a way to welcome a friend." The woman responded to his rude remark as she crossed her arms. She had dark brown hair pulled into a messy bun that sat near the back of her head and a red tunic with a belt that hung lazily at her side. There were silver plates of armor secured over her shoulders, and at her hip hung the sheath of a sword with its intricate hilt showing. "Besides, I thought you said you didn't really have much else to do today."  
  
"Tina, I literally just got back here." Gavin replied, but didn't attempt at all to stop her when she stepped by him and into his abode. He ran his fingers through his hair and closed the door, turning towards the woman who was assessing his house.  
  
"Nice place you got here, Gav!" She said with her hands on her hips as she looked around, her eyes finding the loft and letting out an ooh. "They don't make many houses with those." Tina turned back towards him. "Living quarters are totally worth it in the knight leagues."  
  
"Yeah, that's true. If you can stand all the things they throw at you." Gavin huffed a sigh and looked around in a small chest next to the fireplace to find a shirt to put on. He ruffled through chainmail, kneepads, and even almost cut his finger on a misplaced dagger. God, he needed to get some organization skills. He knew for sure that wasn't something he'd be able to get down at the market.  
  
"What happened_ there_?" Tina questioned, brows furrowing as she pointed a finger at the purple mark sprawled across Gavin's side. She paused for a moment then gasped, pulling her hand to her lips. "You didn't get into another fight at the Tavern, did you?" Her voice was exasperated and full of concern as she spoke quickly.  
  
"What?" Gavin pondered as he processed her question. "I did _not!_" He said louder and a tad more aggressive then he intended. "Why the hell's everything got to lead back to what happened at the damn Tavern?"  
  
"Because, Gavin, you have a bit of a temper if you haven't noticed!" She chided back at him, taking a step closer to investigate his side, but before she could gawk at it he slipped on a greyish shirt that probably at some point was white.  
  
He slammed the lid of the chest down and it closed with a loud bang that echoed around them. "I do _not_ have a temper!" He said with flaming temperament. He whirled around to face her and she couldn't help but quirk a brow at him, hoping he caught the irony weaved in his actions.  
  
"Fine, Mr. Fireball." Tina threw her hands up in defeat. "At least let me take a look at your wound. I have a few things that might help remedy it." She reached down to her belt and unclipped a small brown sack from her belt and held it up for him to see. It was made of thick woven fabric and at the top, there was a light brown, almost yellow-ish rope tied around to keep it closed.

"Okay, but you better not pull any witchcraft out of that bag. You know I'm not about that stuff." He sat down on the side of his bed and she plopped down beside him with a scoff.

"You know good and well that I only deal with stuff from my Book Of Apothecary." She untied the brown bag and laid the rope off to the side, being sure to keep track of it for when she needed to pack everything back up.

"_Sure._" He tapped a finger on his chin. "That's exactly what you'd say if you were a witch."

She punched at his shoulder. "Shut up and let me do my magic." She wiggled her fingers at him with shoulders scrunched as if she were casting an imaginary spell.

"Whatever, just-" He paused. "If you turn me into a frog, treat me well, won't you?" Gavin dramatically laid his forearm over his head as he leaned back in pretend anguish. He peeked out of one eye when he didn't hear her respond, but she just sat there, her impatientness becoming more obvious by the moment.

"Well, I've never heard of Serpent's Clove turning anyone into frogs." She paused for a moment as she grabbed a small glass vessel of blue liquid, a large cork in the top of it. "But if you were to turn into a frog," She put a small bit of the liquid onto a fresh cloth. "I promise I'd feed you lots of bugs." She assured, then gestured towards his wound. "Shirt." She prompted.

Gavin lifted his shirt with a bit of hesitancy, but he put his faith in her and let her press the rag against him. The sensation was strange, it was so icy it burned and it felt bubbly against his skin. He tried to pull away, but Tina put her other hand on his shoulder to still him and he frowned, eyes narrowing as the substance began to sting against his skin. The pain of it grew and grew like a flame being held closer and closer to his skin, then it quickly turned to a soft, comforting feeling, like velvet and a cool breeze at the same time.

"What the hell's in that stuff?" Gavin questioned under his breath as he looked down at the bruise. It was far less purple and he could see that there was a cut in the center, looked deep enough that it might need to be stitched up. The idea of someone threading a needle through his skin made his queazy and cold at the same time.

"Just ground up serpent's clove, a little bit of rose melon sap and water. It does wonders for the healing of the skin." She smiled as she plugged the cork back into the bottle and placed it back in her sack. "However, you're going to need something to close up that gash."

"If you're going to jab me with needles next, just forget about it." Gavin hovered his hand over his wound protectively.

"If you would please let me speak for two seconds, I'd be able to tell you I found an alternative to that." She said proudly as she straightened her back, sitting tall before she reached into her bag for another strange substance. This one was dark purple with bluish hues to it. Tina tilted the bottle and he could see it was rather viscous, much thicker than the syrupy sap of any tree he'd seen.

"Now this." She swirled the container. "This is a little concoction I like to call The Chimera."

"Why is it called that?" Gavin questioned abruptly. "And is it going to feel as weird as the last thing you put on my skin?"

"No, silly, this doesn't go on the skin." She popped the cork off the container. "This goes directly into the wound!"

"NOo!" Gavin jumped up from where he was sitting, his voice shooting up an octave as he choked out his protest. "Like hell it does!"

"Gavin, _please_." Tina sighed heavily. "It's not going to hurt, I promise." She patted the bed for him to come sit back down. "I use this on the dragons now, since it's excruciatingly difficult to stitch up those bad boys." She pursed her lips and shook her head, looking towards the ground for a second before shifting her gaze back to him. "Now sit." She demanded. "Or lay down actually." She stood. "Yeah, that'll work better."

Gavin eyed her as he walked back to the side of his bed, laying down on his side facing towards her.  
"This better not poison me." He moved his shirt out of the way to expose the wound. "Because I'll be mad if this kills me. I'll come back and haunt you from beyond the grave."

"It's not going to poison you, all the ingredients are things that are safe for both humans and dragons alike. So just sit still." She took the cork out of the container, and Gavin noticed that this one had a slight spout on it. She slowly poured the liquid into the small wound, filling it up until it overflowed onto his skin ever so slightly, then she stopped. "That's it. Just sit still for a minute to let it solidify."

"This is so fucking gross."

"You know what's even more gross? A nasty infection. Now stop complaining." Tina pointed a finger at him as she stood and put her stuff back into her bag, neatly tieing a small bow on top to close it up.

Gavin looked down at where the small gash was, the purple substance hardening into a near rubber consistency as it attached to his skin. He gently touched it with his pointer and middle finger and it was already solid enough not to get on his finger. "How did you find out about this stuff?" His voice was filled with curiosity. "You're an honest genius." His eyes turned up to meet hers. "For real."

"It's just about knowing the benefits of the plants you see around you every day. Then you just mix some together, and you're good to go." She smiled. "There's, of course, a bit more of a science to it, just that's the gist of it."

Gavin slowly sat up, being careful not to cause any disruption in his strange bandage. The pain was almost completely gone. He felt like he could walk and move around without having to deal with pain anywhere near what it was this morning. Maybe she was a witch after all...But even if she was, he wasn't going to snitch on her because damn she could work miracles.

"So are you going to this dumb ceremony thing tomorrow?" Gavin questioned as he fixed his shirt to cover his abdomen properly, then rested his hands on his knees. "Or the King's announcement, whatever it is. Probably about his new land purchase or to gloat about his dragon."

The look Tina gave him was completely dumbfounded by his statement. She couldn't help but just stare at him. Concern filled her eyes and it caused anxiety to build up in Gavin's stomach, the moments feeling like eons as he waited for her to say something. After a few moments, she finally found the air in her lungs and she spoke.

"You really haven't heard, have you?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gavin, you're so out of the loop...
> 
> Hey, guys, if you like the story so far, let me know! I love hearing from you all :)


	3. News To Me

Gavin couldn't help but stare at her blankly, his eyebrows twitching ever so slightly as he held his expression. "What are you talking about?" He shook his head as he squinted at her. "I doubt it's going to be anything serious." He paused, leaning towards her. "Right?"  
  
"The High Priestess is going to be there tomorrow with her Dragonling." Tina told him, rather shocked that he had gone so long without hearing the news. "How have you not heard about this yet, Gav? They're picking a new Rider tomorrow!" She stood, throwing her arms out to the side. "It's one of the highest honors that can be bestowed to the people of our village!"  
  
"Don't we already have a few dragons around here?" Gavin questioned as he looked up at her. "I don't really know why we would need any more." He shrugged and let his eyes wander around the room, doing his best to avoid her expression of disbelief. He fiddled with his fingers under her harsh gaze.  
  
"It's not just about that Gavin..." She trailed off sympathetically, but frustration was evident in the way she spoke. "It's the fact that there's another person out there that has a soul compatible with a dragon. Knights train for years in hope that one day they would be worthy of that honor." She sat back down next to him, his discomfort radiating off of his skin. "Isn't that something you would want as a knight?"  
  
His expression was pained as he turned back towards her. "I'm not a Rider, Tina." He sighed. "I'm hardly even a knight, so how the hell do you think I'd be able to put up with a dragon for the rest of my life?" He ran his hands down his thighs and to his knees a few times, trying to dispell some of the stress building up in his body. "I wouldn't be able to handle it." He paused for a moment. "I don't even know if I would want to bond with something like _that_, you know?"  
  
"I understand," Tina said gently as she placed a hand on his shoulder. He stilled slightly at her touch, but he didn't pull away from her. "It's not for everyone, and if it's not for you then you don't have to worry about it." She smiled softly at him, leaning forward to meet his eyes from underneath his downturned head. "But if it is." She started, raising her brows. "Then it won't feel like a burden to you."  
  
Gavin stayed silent as he was deep in thought. There was something about the topic. Why did it set so heavily on his heart? Why couldn't he just move past the whole idea that he wasn't a Rider? After all, there was no way he'd ever be able to be on the back of a dragon. He'd prefer to live his life with both feet on the ground, the only exception being a horse for transportation.  
  
He righted his posture and looked back at Tina.  
"Yeah, you're probably right. I'm probably just thinking about it a little too hard." He gave a half-hearted smile. "So what time does this whole shindig start? And more importantly, will there be food?"  
  
Tina chuckled at his question. "It starts around nine, and you know any event that has the King present will have food. With spring harvest coming up as well, I'm sure the farmers will have plenty to contribute."  
  
"Man, that sounds great." Gavin said quietly beneath his breath.  
  
"Well, I guess I'll go ahead and leave you now. I'm sure I've intruded enough on you for the day." Tina stood, re-attaching the small brown bag on his bed to her belt.  
  
"You know you're always such a hassle." He said throwing himself down on his bed. "Just the worst honestly." He joked. "But, for real, thanks for patching me up." He placed a hand over his wound that was far less painful than before. "Hank honestly has one hell of a sword arm."  
  
"That he does." She nodded. "I've sparred up against him a few times and he never ceases to amazing me with his capabilities." She spared a glance into his mirror and adjusted her shoulder pads making sure she was presentable to the outside world. "He may be a bit gray, but that doesn't seem to slow him down."  
  
"No doubt." Gavin chimed in. "I'd hate to see what would have happened if he hit me with the sharp end of the blade."  
  
"Probably your funeral." Tina snorted and Gavin gasped in feined offense.  
  
Tina made her way to the wooden door, opening and it sounded a creak as it swung on the hinges. "I'll see you tomorrow, Gav." She winked, but before she could close the door, he spoke up.  
  
"What about you?" His voice turned solemn, catching her off guard as she stood in the doorway. The silence was heavy between them as she tried to figure out what he was getting at.  
  
"Hmm?" She hummed and tilted her head to the side inquisitively.  
  
"Would you want to share a bond with a dragon?" Gavin spoke barely above a whisper, but the look on his face was serious. He was sitting up again with his hands folded between his knees, bouncing his wrists. He seemed nervous about her response, struggling to keep eye contact with her.  
  
Tina hummed again and let her back lean against the doorframe as she pondered his question. She looked up for a few moments, then clicked her tongue. "I think that's something I'm just going to have to leave up to fate." She crossed her arms. "I love working with the dragons at the stables, but if it's in the will of the spirits, then it will happen. But I'm happy where I am now." She answered him truthfully from the heart.  
  
Gavin nodded absent-mindedly, not even focusing on the fact she'd already said goodbye to him again and closed the door behind her, the ray of light coming in from where she stood vanished at the last thin strip of luminescence. It took his eyes a few moments to reacclimate to the lower light.  
  
Then once again he was left to himself and his own mind left to wander. It's what he wanted when he had first gotten home, but he wasn't so sure it was the same thing he wanted now. He brought his clasped hands up to his lips.  
  
He was in training to be a knight. That was who he was supposed to be, a way to channel his aggressiveness into something positive. He was going to be a hero someday, he knew it. He needed that. He didn't want to be just another body on the battlefield that no one remembered once they fell. The idea of being forgotten lit a fire in the pit of his stomach, and soon it rose into his throat coming out as an angry growl. He stood up quickly grabbing the first thing he could find and throwing it as hard as he could against the wall, hoping it would just shatter, but it didn't. And it didn't satisfy his aggression at all.  
  
Gavin paced back and forth throughout his house, trying to solve the uneasiness burning deep in his stomach. He wished he could just rip whatever the hell he was feeling out of his chest and shatter it in place of what he couldn't break. But he couldn't. It just sat there, gnawing on him from the inside out, feeling as though it threatened to break out, but it never would.  
  
It was like a fire that begged to be put out. That longed-for answers that he could never give it. And it was irritating as_ fuck_. The longer he paced the strong the feeling got and it coursed through his exhausted body like venom in his bloodstream. The more his mind roamed the more the venom took hold and eventually caused his head to feel fuzzy from overstimulation.  
  
He thought about going to the tavern to drink it away, but his muscles were too tired from the long sparring session from the morning. It wouldn't be worth it to get drunk and show up at the ceremony tomorrow hungover. He knew that Hank would probably throw a fit if he even so much thought of alcohol when he showed up. In defeat, he laid in the center of his bed, staring at the ceiling, doing the best he could to stay focused on it until his mind began to slow down and drift off into slumber.  
  
Everything was going dark, and senses were fading. The odd sense of serenity in unknowingness. He no longer thought about where he was, what he was feeling inside, or even the concern of tomorrow. Just the sweet surrender of unconsciousness slowly slipping into his veins.  
  
But there was something strange...  
and unlike anything he'd seen before.  
He could have sworn that in his dreams,  
There was a shimmer of blue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your support and patience! Hope you enjoyed this chapter :)


	4. Day Of The Riders

Sunlight poured in from the small window across the room, the first light of day managing to dock his right in the eyes and cause him to groan as he pulled the blankets over his head in a futile attempt to get just a few more minutes of sleep. Before he could even think about falling back asleep, he heard the sounds of the kingsmen announcing loudly throughout the village that the King's ceremony started in three hours. Unfortunately, it wasn't something people around there could opt-out of. It was mandatory. Someone in the village brought the high priestess and King there and if that someone didn't come out of their hole long enough to accept their role as the new dragon rider, then they'd be in some deep shit.  
  
Gavin slowly rose into a sitting position, eyes still wanting to fall close on him, but he did his best to fight the urge even though his eyelids fluttered a few times. He swung his legs over to the side of his bed and stood, stepping over to the mirror to look at Tina's handiwork on his injury. He pulled up his shirt slightly and looked at the strange purple that sprawled on his side. It reminded him somewhat of glazed pottery the way it shimmered in the light. A glossy purple with hints of blue. The material almost even felt like skin when it was touched, but there was ever so slightly a gelatinous feeling to it the way it had a bit of give to it.  
  
He switched out of his clothes and into his armor figuring he would rather be safe than sorry and show up and be the only knight out of uniform. Unfortunately, the armor took a lot longer to put on then it took to take off. There were several interlocking pieces that had to go on one after the other. First the shoulders, then the arm pads, then the gloves. The center didn't have as much protection, and he pondered that maybe picking up some chainmail would be a good idea. In fact, he'd have to do that later today. Wouldn't want to have any incidents like the one Hank had caused.  
  
By the time Gavin had opened his door, there was a crowd of people moving down the road between the houses. It was hard to hear just one conversation over all of them chatting at once, they all seemed extremely excited, but he just couldn't get into it as much as they could. Regardless, he joined their march. It would probably take about forty-five minutes or so to get to the field where the King claimed to be setting up, but leaving early was the best idea to account for any delays. Especially since being late wasn't exactly an option.  
  
It didn't take very long for him to grow irritated, people bumping into him, shoving him back and forth, not knowing how to walk in a damned straight line. He exited the herd and fell back a little bit to where it was quieter and he wasn't having to worry about people stepping on his boots. Walking in the grass was a nice change anyway, and he enjoyed being able to hear his own thoughts once more instead of the drama from the bakery or the suspicions of the dressmaker. God, these people were petty. He was pretty sure all the breadmakers did was bake bread and talk shit. But then again, he figured that true of any occupation, not just breadmaking.  
  
Gavin was almost content. _Almost_. But then he felt something heavy thwack across his lower back, then another strike. He quickly whipped around to see a small boy with blonde hair and a wooden sword. He wanted to be mad, he really did, but he just squinted at the boy.  
  
"Can I help you?" Gavin questioned the boy, but he only grinned again and started hitting him with his wooden sword relentlessly. It didn't hurt, but it didn't feel great either.  
"Hey, kid, cut it out." He said in a low tone, turning to walk away, only to be bombarded by a bunch of strikes to his backside. Gavin pinched the bridge of his nose before turning back towards the kid, kneeling down to his level, giving a half-assed smile then grabbed the sword and pulled it from the boy's hands. He stood, and with all the strength he had, he threw the wooden sword as hard as he could with a grunt and watched as it sailed over the green pasture, the small child running after it.  
  
"You're so great with kids." Tina chimed as she caught up with him.  
  
"What can I say. It's a gift." He replied, unamused, but is facade broke a bit and he chuckled. It was pretty funny how the kid scrambled to get to that sword. He hoped that would mean he wouldn't have to deal with him again.  
  
"You could have at least humored him a little, Gav." Tina said in an almost disappointed manner.  
  
Gavin only shrugged in response as they continued their trek towards the ceremony. "Just got a lot on my mind." He finally spoke. "Just didn't feel like toying around with a fake sword is all."  
  
She rolled her eyes and let out a huff. "Alright, fair enough." She paused and looked over to where the boy finally found the sword in the tall grass. "But did you have to throw it so damn far?" She gestured towards the horizon with one hand as she quirked an eyebrow at him. "I'm surprised you didn't chunk it hard enough to throw out your shoulder."  
  
"What do you think I am? Old?" Gavin questioned as he rolled his shoulders, almost as if he were checking them _just_ in case. He did it more as a tic then anything, really.  
  
"Well, you _are_ older than me, so by comparison..." She trailed off, knowing he would catch her drift.  
  
"By what? Two years?" He scoffed.  
  
"Yes, and those extra two years did _not_ do you _anything_ pretty."  
  
"That's it." Gavin threw his hands up, at this point he was walking backward so that he could face her directly. "Those are fighting words." He paused, and his next words came out mockingly posh. "I challenge thee to a du-el." He enunciated his syllables carefully, then returned to his normal voice. "Meet me at sundown for the ass-kicking of your life."  
  
"FIrstly, are you that eager to lose?" Tina questioned. "Secondly, you sound like a bully on the courtyard."  
  
"Oh, come _on_." He strained. "Just because I got a little roughed up during a sparring match with Hank doesn't mean I'm no good." His expression almost turned into a pout, that quickly turned into a strong frown as he knocked into the back of someone whilst he was still walking backward. He quickly turned around, this time walking to the side of her and trying to ignore the grumbling of the older man he clashed into.  
  
"I'm not saying your no good." She paused. "I'm just saying you could use a little bit of practice. You'd make an amazing knight if you weren't so full of yourself, you know." She gave a sincere look and pursed her lips.  
  
Gavin didn't respond. He only tilted his head to the side and eyes peered down at her. He stuck his tongue in his cheek for a moment as he thought, then broke eye contact with her and looked straight ahead. He suddenly became more aware of the sound of his boots crunching the ground beneath them.  
  
Maybe she was right? Maybe he _was_ too full of himself at times. Maybe she was just referring to his temper like she had earlier. He thought about when Hank called him out for underestimating his opponent and striking him in the side. _What an ass_. He thought, and the more he thought the more frustration built up in his gut. What did they know anyway? He took a deep breath, hoping the air would quell the fire in his stomach.

"You know I only said that because I know you have crazy potential." Tina told him softly as she looked up at him. The way she spoke, calmed him down. Sure he could still be mad at Hank, but he didn't have any reason to hold anything against his closest friend.

"Yeah." Gavin nodded. "Yeah, I know." His demeanor softened and calmed dramatically. "Thanks." His voice was low, just loud enough for her to hear it and smile. They strode quietly for a little while longer, taking in the fresh air and the scenery around them. The sparse trees here and there, there were few but they were huge, strong oak trees. The tall grass swayed in the wind on the sides of the dirt road, flowers peeking up here and then.

They had dispersed far enough from the crowd that it wasn't as noisy before, and the quietness between them became more and more-so deafening. The sun had continued its trek higher above the horizon, and it seemed to become hotter by the minute, much unfortunate for the armor-clad duo.

"How much longer?" Gavin whined, pulling at pieces of loose armor in an attempt to let the breeze blow on his skin. It wasn't much, but it helped to cool him down significantly.

"Be patient." She responded. "It should be just over the hill." She looked up to see a few dragons. They were close enough that they could see the long, waving ribbons tied to the beast's ankles. One had two strips of purple, another two strips of yellow, and the last, two strips of white. "Those are definitely heading to the ceremony!" She said excitedly. "As long as we keep an eye on them, they'll lead us straight to it."

Gavin nodded, watching the large ribbons sway and twirl in the sky and the strong wings of the dragons that battered down on the wind to keep themselves afloat. They were powerful creatures, but they were so easily controlled by their rider. _Why would such a creature give up their freedom to become a servant of a human?_ He thought. He couldn't quite place it. The dragons didn't seem in distress, they didn't throw their heads side to side in attempt to buck off their rider. They stayed perfectly streamline with each other, and will an astonishing gentleness, kept their rider safe. _Why?_

That same question echoed in his head again and again. He didn't know why it irked him so much, he didn't even really understand why he kept thinking about it. It's like when you tell yourself not to think about something. That thought has a way of creeping up from any other thought as if he were stuck on a racetrack. No matter how many times he'd turn, he'd always end up at the same exact place no matter what.

After all, there wasn't really a need for him to push it out of his mind and try to hide it. He was about to be surrounded by Dragon Rider's coming to pay their respects to the new Rider, then after he left he could let his mind wander to other things. Other less _distressing_ things, he hoped.

"So, uh, what happens when a dragon rider is picked." Gavin questioned. _Damn it damn it DAMN IT_. So much for less distressing thoughts.

"Oh, come on, if I told you now, It wouldn't be any fun, now would it?" Tina questioned as she rushed to the top of the hill, looking over into the valley. "You'll find out soon!" She exclaimed and pointed into the distance. "I see the ceremony just ahead!"

He took a deep breath and crested the hill, looking down at the large gathering of people, more and more pouring in from every side of the valley like water pouring into a bowl. Maybe things were going to be okay. It'd be simple, easy, and nothing to worry about. After all...  
  
How bad could it be?


	5. The Ceremony

The view of the ceremony from above was beyond impressive. Not only was Gavin shocked by the sheer amount of people that joined in, but he was also surprised of how colorful it was. Bouquets of flowers decorated the wooden poles that held up the white tents, mixtures of all different kinds of fruit littered across long brown tables in reds, greens, oranges, and blue. They all seemed to be assorted by color and their bold contrast was rather pleasing to the eye.  
  
The next thing that caught both Gavin and Tina's attentions were the large scaley behemoths that marched over the top of the far hill. Gavin couldn't tell if the thrum in his chest was the footsteps of the beasts in the distance or just his heart. The way the dragons held their heads up high displayed their regal attitudes, yet the calmness of their demeanor told a different story.  
  
The riders stood close by their dragons, a reign attached to the large snout and the end of the leather strap was wrapped around each rider's hand rather loosely. Yet there was no fear that the dragon would run away or try to harm those in its path.  
  
The two slowly walked down the steep side of the hill, boots sliding just a bit here and there, but the rocks on the slope gave them a bit of foothold to keep on trekking. They would rather lack a bit of haste then to tumble down the rocky slope and dent up their armor. Although Gavin found himself having to balance himself out a few times much to Tina's amusement.  
  
"So, you've been to one of these things before, right?" Gavin questioned.  
  
"Yeah, I've been to a few." Tina replied as she finally set foot on even ground, almost jarred a bit by the change coming sooner than expected. "I'm honestly surprised you haven't gone to at least one, Gav." She smirked a bit. "I'm surprised you haven't gotten snitched on about missing them."  
  
"Well, _excuse_ me. I didn't really care much about the whole ordeal. I just went into town one day and everyone was gone." He shrugged. "Thought I'd missed some kind of rapture."  
  
Tina downright snorted and covered her face with a hand. "Oh my god." She paused for a moment. "I remember you telling me about that now!" She laughed again. "I bet you were so freaked out."  
  
"Nah. Honestly, I was glad. No one to piss me off."  
  
"You were totally freaking about." Tina placed a hand on her hip and looked up at him. "No doubt about it."  
  
"How do you know?" He questioned. "After all, you weren't there."  
  
She eyeballed him and gave a small 'Mmhmm.' She knew for sure he would be freaking out, wandering out of his house probably half-asleep to buy some sort of breakfast pastry. She smiled again at the thought of him looking around town frantically in the dead silence, the only exception being the click of his shoes on the cobblestone.  
  
Their thoughts were interrupted by a low huff and an oddly warm gust of wind that washed over the both of them. Gavin stilled and his eyes widened, he felt frozen in place, unable to thaw even with the heat bellowing over the back of his neck. He slowly turned and found himself eye to eye with a dark grey dragon with piercing green eyes. The scales were slightly iridescent, and the reflecting light made some scales a lighter grey. But the eyes, the more Gavin looked into them the greener they became, almost an indescribable version of a color he'd seen so many times. The creature's pupils fluctuated as it focused on the man in front of him.  
  
The beast trilled lowly from the back of its throat as it tilted its head to the side, deeply inquisitive of the knight. Gavin's eyes trailed along the beast's snout and up to the crooked horns that branched from its head. He knew they weighed a ton, but the dragon's neck moved with a fluidity that lead him to believe they were weightless. Thorn like spikes protruded from the back of the beast's jawline and back up towards the tree-like horns. It pulled gently at the bit in its mouth.  
  
There was something strange, however, the end of the reign hung down without a rider attached to it. Gavin took a few steps back away from the dragon, but Tina took a step forwards, gently reaching her hand up to cup the side of its face, slowly tracing her thumb back and forth over its smooth scales. In return the beast grumbled acceptingly, blinking slowly at her in a sign of trust.  
  
Gavin looked around in confusion, tapping Tina on the shoulder and whispering quietly. "Is...is it lost or some shit?"  
  
"No, she isn't lost." Tina looked over her shoulder at Gavin for a moment before returning her gaze forward. "She's just wandering. When she's done, she'll return to her master." Tina paused. "I think she just wanted to say hello to you."  
  
"_She_?" Gavin almost stuttered over his single word. "That's a she?"  
  
"Yeah?" Tina responded, taken a bit back. "Can't you tell?"  
  
Gavin blinked a few times as he stared at the creature. It blinked back, it's third eyelid ebbing and flowing over its eye to keep it moist as the two primary lids closed. He studied the creature's form, the spikes, the scales, the claws, the broadness of the head and shoulders. He just couldn't see it. This thing did not possess_ any_ traits that would be would consider feminine.  
  
"Uh, no?" Gavin replied. "Not really." He raised his eyebrows.

"Well, I guess I'm just used to being around them a lot." Tina patted the creature's head gently, and it lifted its head to let her scratch the soft under scales of its neck. "You get to learn the minute differences between the males and females. If you have a good enough eye for their physical characteristics, you can tell their sex from a difference."  
  
"I'll have to take your word for that." Gavin took another step away from the dragon and Tina looked at him in confusion.  
  
"She won't hurt you, Gav." Tina said softly. "I'm sure she'd let you touch her if you wanted."  
  
There it was, that feeling in his gut again. He couldn't place it and he sure as hell couldn't figure out where it came from. He hadn't felt like this about dragons before. Sure he didn't really mind them, he just never found himself being around them too much. But the scaly lass in front of him let his angst roll back through his veins once more. He got a sudden jolt of bravery and stepped forward, reaching his arm forward with his palm out-turned. The dragon moved the tip of its nose closer to his hand, it's nostrils flaring as it cooed.  
  
Then his courage suddenly left his heart and he curled his fingers tightly, retracting his hand. He couldn't do it. It didn't make sense. He wasn't afraid, he didn't think the thing was going to bite his arm of. Well, not completely. But that was beside the point. It was the feeling in his gut that pulled him away. Like a shock through his body changing his intent without taking his will into consideration. He wanted to outreach his head again, but it only fell back to his side, his eyes locking with the dragon's and their evergreen glow.  
  
The dragon seemed to read his distress, and she laid down in the grass, lowering her head to him. There was a soul behind those eyes and Gavin knew it. Maybe he was intimidated by that fact. She seemed harmless enough, and even more so as she showed herself vulnerable to them. Then it clicked for Gavin as he tried to step towards the dragon again. It was like a forcefield. Not so much in the physical sense as in the emotional sense. The closer he got to the dragon the stronger the feeling burned in his chest, telling every muscle in his body to stop and retreat, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't break through it.  
  
Gavin just stood there, staring at the beast as the energy held himself back from her. It coursed through his veins and wore him out quickly as if it were being drained. Gavin let his shoulders slump down slightly as he distanced himself from both the dragon and Tina, slowly at first, but then he began to turn away.  
  
"Sorry." He muttered under his voice and he turned his back to them, the feeling in his stomach dissipating slightly, but it still remained there as if he had swallowed a large rock.  
  
Tina rubbed the dragon's snout in an apology, and the creature seemed to understand, eyes smiling as she pressed her snout into Tina's side. She returned her smile to the beast and gave it a few firm pats.  
"Don't take it personally. He can be a bit finicky sometimes. You're a good gal." She paused. "Make sure you go get your master before the ceremony starts, okay?"  
  
The dragon let out a deep purr and stood, walking far enough away that Tina wouldn't be struck by its powerful wings as it took to the sky. As it did, grass and dirt clouded around the gusts of wind as the earth was stirred by the creature's strength. Tina watched as the dragon soared overhead, banking slightly to the right, then to the left as it rode the breeze.  
  
Then Tina's eyes found Gavin. He hadn't even bothered to wait up for her even when he was nervous to enter the ceremony in the first place. Once she caught up to him, he stayed silent, eyes not breaking from the ground even when he saw her boots tread alongside his.  
  
"What happened?" She questioned, her voice just above a whisper. To be honest, she was confused. The way she saw him retract wasn't out of fear and it wasn't out of hate. It was due to something else, but what else?  
  
"I don't-" Gavin began, but he stopped himself as he looked up, the ceremony tents growing larger as they approached. "It's just like-." He paused again, struggling to articulate his thoughts. It seemed his words got snagged somewhere between his brain and his tongue. He swallowed and took in a deep breath before he tried to speak again. "I just couldn't do it." He finally replied. "It was like trying to connect two negative magnets. Technically I could, but the force was opposing enough to stop me." He placed a hand over his chest. "And I got this feeling again. Anything to do with dragons sparks this feeling." He met eyes with Tina, his brows furrowed and genuine concern in his eyes."It makes me feel like I shouldn't be here." He felt defeat well up inside him as his eyes flickered between Tina's. "It's like I don't belong."


	6. The Calling

"What do you mean?" Tina questioned as she grabbed his arm, pulling him to a stop, scanning the distraught expression that had washed steadily over his face. "This ceremony is an _everyone_ thing." She paused as he let out a huff. "You belong here." She said firmly as she placed her hands on both of his shoulders tightly.  
  
Gavin took a step back and Tina let our hands slip from his shoulders and fall back to her sides. Her shoulders slumped in defeat. The ache in his heart rejected touch of any kind, he didn't truly mean to reject her, but it was as if his mind and body had two different ideas of what they wanted to do. His expression softened when he saw the saddened expression on Tina's face.  
  
"I'm not talking about the ceremony itself." Gavin's voice was gruff as if he was trying to hide the emotion in his throat, even though it begged to come out. "I feel overall misplaced, here especially." He paused as he looked up ahead, the ceremony wasn't too far away now. They could hear the music and the faint sound of chatter. "It's the dragons." Gavin furrowed his brow, it sounded odd now that he had said it. Why would it have been the dragons anyway? They didn't do anything particular to him. It was just simply the feeling he got when he approached that grey dragon. Was it her aura? Did she have some kind of power that clashed with him somehow? Maybe he just wasn't good enough to even be in the presence of a dragon like that.

"What's wrong with the dragons?" Tina questioned quietly, her tone confused as she tried to best to understand. "For the most part, you won't even have to interact with anymore." She shrugged. "But, you'll have to head home without me. I'm staying for the after the celebration to look at the rider's displaying their beauties." Tina fell quiet for a few moments, her voice lowering once more. "Did something happen that you aren't telling me, Gav?" The two began moving towards the ceremony once more.

"No." He groaned in frustration. "Nothing happened." He threw his hands up. "No tragic background between me and dragons, just a bunch of confusing as hell emotions."

"Well, maybe-" Before Tina even had a chance to finish her sentence, they heard the sound of roaring trumpets just up ahead, loud enough for the sound to rattle within their chests. "Oh shit!" She exclaimed between the fanfare and grabbed Gavin's arm tightly, doing her best to drag him as quickly as possible to the area with rows of wooden benches. "Look, Gav." She whispered. "As much as I want to help you sort our your emotions, it'll have to be later, okay?"  
  
Gavin rolled his eyes and gave a nod as they pushed through the crowd of people already sitting to get to the area towards the middle, it was a little cramped where they sat, but they would make do with what they had. Gavin in particularly took notice of the immediate rise in heat due to the close proximity of the other town folk, and good God did anyone teach these people how to bathe?

There was chitchat left and right of them, and Gavin knew good and well they weren't going to hear a word that came out of the announcer's mouth if these plebes didn't shut their damn mouths. without a second thought, there was a roar that washed over all of them, shocking many, but many of the children seemed to get a kick out of it. A large, golden dragon stood behind the stage, eyes focused heavily on anyone who made anything more than a slight peep.

"Wonderful!" The King spoke, so much for announcers, right? He walked to the center of the makeshift wooden stage, arms outstretched to those who joined in, many sitting, but the rest had to stand far in the back. He brushed his dark black hair back and adjusted his long red cloak that he wore over his shoulders, a large golden medallion sitting on his chest where the pieces of fabric met. "It's truly amazing that you all decided to show for this glorious event!" He stated, knowing good and well that these people didn't have a choice to join his ceremony, but hey, at least there was food, right?  
  
It was him, in the flesh. King Elijah. As flamboyant and annoying as he might be, he definitely wasn't their worst King, nothing like his father, in more ways than one. First off, he was the first King in several ages to be appointed Rider along with his title, and to him he was bonded with a golden dragon, her eyes shining a beautiful blue. But she was fierce, and many dared to mess with a man who had over 50 tons of dragon behind him.

There was something unique about his dragon, and something about her no one could quiet place. Their bond was strong, so much so that it seemed as though they could communicate without Elijah having to speak a word, and in a way, he understood her just as well. She went by the name of K'hoerul, but he simply called her Chloe for sake of ease.  
  
It was five years ago that Elijah was bonded to his dragon, and seven years since he took the throne. Many say that having a dragon by his side lead him to become a better leader. Some say it was a blessing from the Gods that he was given a dragon. Although there are some that theorize they he was never actually chosen and it's all just a big show. But everyone knew they were full of crap.

"As you may already know, today is the day a new Rider will be chosen for our Kingdom!" He announced and raised his hands once more to signal that the audience should be cheering. Although Gavin clapped half-heartedly only to get a tough love elbow into his rib. Gavin muttered a quiet 'hey!' to her before returning his attention to the stage. "But before we begin, I will need my lovely High Priestess to join me." Elijah gestured towards the front of the audience, where a woman with a flowing green gown stood, his hair was put up in intricate braids and her sleeves covered up to the base of her palm, with the ends flared out and trimmed in gold. Something you might expect to see from a sorceress.  
  
She walked up the few steps and on to the stage, and that's when everyone noticed something resting on her shoulder. It was a small, red, dragonling, and it scurried around her shoulders much like one would expect from a weasle. There were oohs and ahhs that came from the townsfolk as the woman made her way to center stage to join the King.

"Miss Amanda, would you mind reminding everyone of the rules for the proceeding?" Elijah questioned her as he gestured her to take a step closer to the crowd.

"Of course." She said to him quietly over her shoulder before she looked out to all who had gathered. "Rule number one," She began. "We need all participants to be quiet." She stressed her last word in emphasis. "Rosalie needs to hone in on our new rider and must focus at the best of her ability." The woman raised her hand and the serpentine creature whirled up her arm like a snake, wings flaring out. "Rule number two," She raised her eyebrows, moving her hand to her shoulder to relocate the dragonling. "Absolutely _no_ attempt to _capture_ or _touch_ my darling. In doing so you are interfering with a crucial process and you will be punished as such." Many nods of understanding came from the crowds, quite a few of which were swift and filled with nervous energy.

"Is she always so stuck up?" Gavin leaned over and whispered to Tina, he couldn't help but feel his nerves on edge just from what she had said so far, and he could feel the discomfort in the crowd around him.

"It's fine, it's just the introductory. Everything will be much calmer once this is out of the way." Tina paused. "It's just a very serious matter, the tension never lasts, I promise."

Gavin gave her a small nod in understanding and straightened his back, took a deep breath, and tried to block out the stress radiating off of others and on to him from every direction. _Please let this be over soon, and please let there not be too many more rules._ He hoped to himself, but he could see the look in the High Priestess's eyes that she wasn't quietly done with them yet.

"Rule number _three_." Amanda stated, voice becoming just a hair lower. "My Rosalie will perch on the one she chooses, and you are _not_ to refuse her. Refusing her is refusing your position as our highest knight and discounting your entire Kingdom in the process. Is this all understood?" Agreement roared throughout the audience in unison, and Amanda gave them a pleased smile.

"Then let us begin!"


	7. A Night In The Stables

_The Evening Before_  
  
Hank grabbed onto the splayed rope wrapped tightly around the hay bale and threw it towards one of the large stalls. It was much larger than what would be needed for any kind of horse, and didn't have a gate on front to keep anything inside.

Tomorrow was the ceremony, a time to celebrate the Knights that made their way above anything he knew he could ever be. And if he were honest, it kind of hurt. His position within the society wasn't necessarily bad, but knowing he couldn't match up to the Riders left a certain kind of ache in his chest.

He didn't like the idea that he_ had_ to have a dragon to be equal to the Riders, to be given the same praise and honor as them. He wanted to be himself and fight his way to the Kingdom's admiration. But how could he compare to the ones with such brilliant creatures by their side?

He startled a bit as something pushed him from behind, almost causing him to trip over the bale and into the stall. He caught himself and turned around to face a large ruby colored dragon, eyes glimmering with gold.  
  
"I know, I know." Hank said softly with a sigh as he righted his position and gave the beast a few heavy pats on the neck. "They're bringing the food in soon, so you won't have to wait much longer." He let his fingers trace over the edges over her smooth scales that grew sharper towards the tips.

The ruby dragon knelt down to him, as if she had felt his distress from within. Her eyes scanned him as she tried to understand what his heart held so heavily. Then something washed over him, he felt as though the creature actually understood him, as if his emotions were oscillating between the two of them. And suddenly he could feel her emotions as well. It was strange and curious, powerful, but non-threatening.

Just as quick as the moment had come, it vanished, and was replaced with the sense of repulsion.  
"What the hell...?" Hank questioned quietly to himself as he took a step away from the dragon, the beasts eyes growing wide and head tilting slightly. It felt magnetic, but he and the dragon were both positives. What did it mean? Ugh. It did not feel very pleasant at all. It was like she was wrapped in a force field, and it seemed like she could somewhat sense it as well when he tried to approach once more.

Hank moved her hand out to her, trying to brace the feeling of magnetism, his mind began to grow fuzzy as he pushed forwards, his thoughts became jumbled as the dragon stared deep into his eyes. It came to a point where he could push no further, and a jolt went through his fingertips, straight to his head, the only word he could make out came from a voice he'd never heard.  
  
_Ready_  


  
He jerked his hand back and stared at the beast. She reared her head back and shook it a few times before standing, tail wavering behind her. The voice... He tried to place it but it almost seemed like a concept rather than an actual voice. A distinct feeling that he could place with that exact word, and he felt as though his mind helped construct it.

The dragon eyed him heavily, before bounding off towards the entrance, obviously waiting on the cart full of whatever livestock farmers had offered up. With the beasts status, it's safe to say they've never gone hungry. When the sound of wooden wheels echoed into the stables, Hank knew things were going to get a bit hectic. Since he'd done most of his work organizing, cleaning, and putting down fresh hay for the beats, he figured it was time to leave. Especially considering what just happened.

One blue and one green dragon stomped their way towards the feeding cart, damn near knocking Hank over in the process. He supposed that was the risk of working with the dragons. To deal with a beast you have to expect a beast. As gentle as the creatures were to their rider's, they found it difficult to share the same sentiment with others at times. Especially when those times revolved around food.

"All done?" A familiar voice called out to Hank. He raised his brows and gave a small smile to the source of the voice, Tina.

"Yeah, mostly anyway." Hank waved his hand vaguely back in towards the stables. "Not feeling at my best tonight is all."

"Ah, I see." She gave a small smirk. "So Gavin bested you after all?"

"Ha!" Hank laughed heartily. "Is that what he told you?" He smiled. "Poor guy could barely land a blow on me." He paused, his voice softening. "Think I've just got the pre-ceremony jitters I guess."  
  
"Well, that certainly can happen." She nodded understandably and she crossed her arms. "Oh!" She exclaimed, she pulled her bag from her side, still letting it hang from her shoulder. "I've got special instructions to check the dragons tonight for any wounds or imperfections." Tina jangled the bag side to side.

"_After_ their dinner, right?" Hank quirked a brow.

"Oh, yeah, no kidding." She turned an eye back towards the stalls to see the feeder-boy using a pitchfork to hock chunks of meat from the cart and into the air where they were clamped down on by the maw of the dragons. They swallowed each piece whole, throwing their heads back to work it down their throats. It was an almost unsettling sight, but at the same time there was a sense of morbid curiosity to watch at two dragons played tug-o-war with a relatively large carcass. The two beasts took what they could from each other and left it at that. Knowing better than to fight each other for it.

"Feisty things, aren't they?" Hank inquired softly, furrowing his brow. "Do you think the feeder-boy ever gets nervous?"  
  
Tina scrunched her nose. "I'd be lying if I said he didn't." She paused as she mulled over her thoughts. "But to be fair, they are introduced and trained to recognize the feeders." She fixed the strap of her bag. "And there haven't been any cases of any of us getting eaten by dragons. So I'd say the records pretty clear." She tapped her chin. "I suppose, however that the most likely time to be eaten by a dragon is during a Rider's first encounter."

Hank gave a half hearted chuckle this time. "I'd hate to be the poor bastard that has to go and find one."

"I don't know." Tina shrugged. "Either you become an elite or you get 'eaten by a dragon' on your tombstone." She laughed.

"One hell of a way to go, I guess." Was Hank's only reply to her absurd statement then let out a sigh. "Well, I'm not going to be a dragon's snack tonight, so I'm going to head out." He paused. "I'll see you at the Ceremony tomorrow." Hank said and Tina smiled.

"Of course. Get some rest." She pulled her bag off of her shoulder as she turned towards the light pouring our of the stables. "I better go get this beauties ready for tomorrow." Then Hank gave a nod and the two turned in separate directions.  
  
Hank ran his fingers through his hair as he tried to gather his thoughts, and he knew for certain that none of the dragons in there possessed any sort of force-field powers. Or...maybe they did? Ah, hell, he didn't know. All he knew is there was a migraine sneaking up the back of his skull and his next stop was going to be his bed.

There was something unsettling resting in the hull of his chest. It was an unfamiliar mix of an ache and a pull. Like he needed to go somewhere, but he couldn't quite place where he wanted to be. He knew he needed to go home, but there was something to the north calling him. He paused in his track for a few moments as he looked up towards the North, the very peek of one of the first mountains could be seen just above the tree line. The night was quiet and not much else could be heard but the sound of the wind sweeping through the leaves.

His eyes were fixed on the sky just above the mountains, flickering between the stars that shown down in heavy patches. It was as if he wanted to chase after them and let them lead him to something new, but he was brought back to reality by the pain in his head. He blinked a few times before finally continuing on down the road. The morning was coming quick, that he was sure of. But what he wasn't so sure of, is what the morning would bring.


	8. The Chosen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Be sure to go back and read chapter 7: A Night In The Stables! I forgot to post it before this chapter! If you are new to the story and this is your first read through, ignore this message.

The tension was high, almost unbearable the moments before Rosalie was release into the air. The rosy serpentine weaved through the air as it carefully eyed those below. Everyone watched in anticipation as the dragon soared over head. She would hover over some here and there, rising the curiosities of many. Were they going to be the next Rider? What about them? Or them?

The questions kept swirling around in Gavin's head as he studied the movements of the small dragon. It wasn't until he saw the creature approaching him that his heart dropped to his feet. He wanted with all his might to turn away and run, but he feared the punishment he could receive if he tried to intervene.

Tina's eyes widened as she saw the beast land on Gavin's shoulder, wrapping around his neck and resting like one would expect from a snake. Gavin was tensed up with his eyes screwed shut, fists clenched, and nose scrunched up as he felt the gentle constriction of the dragon grow stronger. He could hardly keep a coherent thought as he realized just what was happening and what he was expected to do. He was going to have to trudge up into the highlands and try not to die while finding a dragon. No. Nope. Noope. Not happening. Except it was.

There was a roaring applause from all around as Gavin slowly opened his eyes. To stare into hypnotic eyes of the dragon. They seemed to stare into his very soul and he felt as though he could understand the creature. It was telling him that he was the chosen, that he was needed, that he had a destiny to fulfill.

It felt...nice. Knowing that he had something in store in his life other than dying on the battlefield. His lips parted to speak, but suddenly the dragon's grip on him released and it bounded into the air, far above his head. A sense of anger, heartbreak, and confusion swirled around in Gavin's head as he watched the dragon land on another Knight not too terribly far from him.

Was that? No...It couldn't be. Gavin felt his frustrations rising to fury as he realized the dragon had landed on Hank's shoulder, looking into the older man's eyes just as she had done to Gavin. In a fit of rage, Gavin began shoving through the crowd with eyes locked on Hank. What he was going to do when he actually got there never crossed his mind, but he trudged forwards regardless.

When he was close enough to Hank the dragon looked back at Gavin and jumped onto his shoulder once more. The two looked at each other in confusion as quiet whispers began to rise around them. Back and forth from shoulder to shoulder the dragon leapt, and many were confused by the odd behavior of the dragonling.

"It appears that we have not one, but two chosen on this day." Amanda's voice lulled over the crowd as they fell into silence. Gavin couldn't do anything but stare at the woman who was standing on stage. As soon as his initial excitement wore off, he remembered what being chosen really meant.

"This can't be right." Hank muttered under his breath. "I'm too goddamn old for this." Groaned as he looked down at the shorter man. "This better not be some kind of set up."

"Did you feel it?" Gavin questioned, eyes still focused on the woman on stage, whistling for her beast to return to her. The dragon quickly left the two amongst the crowd.

"Feel what?" Hank furrowed his brows in confusion as he crossed his arms. The surrounding was still pretty quiet as they awaited the call from Amanda.

"The aversion to the other dragons. It happened to me this morning. It was like a magnetic force keeping me away it was-" Gavin began.

"Yeah. I felt it." Hank spoke in a gruff voice. "But it doesn't make any sense. There aren't supposed to be two dragons ready to bond. It's never been like that before." Hank's voice was as curious as it was concerned, and finally Amanda spoke.

"In an unbelievable turn of events." She began. "Both of you are chosen." Her voice was hesitant and her face was still in shock. "She does not land on the shoulders of those she does not pick." Amanda said, almost trying to reassure herself that what she saw was correct. "You both are to head for the highlands tomorrow at dawn. No exceptions." She walked down the stairs of the stage and the crowd parted like the red sea as she stepped forwards.

Amanda's presence was overwhelmingly powerful with her serpent wrapped around her shoulders. "You are not to bring any weapons. Nor shall you try to engage with any dragon violently." She added. "I have not seen this scenario before." Her voice was low as she stepped before the two. "You must exercise extra caution on this mission. We would like both of you to come back."

Gavin swallowed hard and blinked a few times, doing his best to try and hide his fear, but his eyes told a different story. He was terrified. He was going to have to face a beast in the middle of fucking nowhere and he was expected to bond with the damn thing. How was he going to do it?

Gavin's mind was buzzing inside his skull as an onslaught of congratulations and pats on the shoulders were distributed to him. He didn't acknowledge many of them, but Hank seemed to have himself composed quite a bit better. Hank was shaking hands, smiling, acting like he was actually happy. Or. Maybe he was?

Gavin gave a half smile at many of the townsfolk that came up to him, and soon, the congratulations stopped and everyone began to disperse. Gavin found it to almost be anti-climatic, but the ceremony was far from over. At least the next part included as much food as he cared to eat.

He grabbed some fruit, cheese, and fresh meat before hauling himself as far from the commotion as he could, and of course, like clockwork, Tina once again located him. He raised a brow at her as he sat down on the slight incline of the grassy knoll. "Well." Gavin huffed. "Guess I'm pretty fucking lucky." His voice was laced with annoyance and sarcasm.

"Aren't you excited?" Tina questioned as she plopped down next to him, brushing her hair out of the way before biting into a large chunk of golden cheese. "You're going to be a part of the elite! They get some pretty damn good amenities."

It was true, many of the dragon riders were accommodated with some pretty sweet houses, many of which were two story and had special bricks to help keep the cold out during the winter. More so for the sake of the dragon than the rider, due to their cold-bloodedness, but still nice.

"I was excited." Gavin furrowed his brow as he picked at his food, rearranging it more than actually eating it. "Then I realized what I was going to have to go through." He paused. Was he actually about to admit that he was scared? That he was terrified of going into the mountains and being mauled to death. "I just-..." He finally took a bite of food, continuing to talk with his mouth full. "I don't know what I'm up against. It makes me want to run in the opposite direction. Yet, I'm curious as the same time? I don't know, nothing makes sense."

"You can't expect everything to make sense. If it did, then where would the adventure in life be?"


	9. Long night, Early Start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone! I'm finally back! Hope you enjoy the chapter :)

  
The night time came slowly and the day was full of the celebration of others. The Riders showed off their handling skills with their dragons, while many cheered on in excitement. You could feel the energy in the air, radiating off the Riders and their dragons. It was a celebration that ignored the setting sun and ran into the shadows of night.

Gavin had a devastating feeling in his stomach, something close to fear and grief. It gnawed on his insides as the hours passed, inescapable. He drew in a deep breath and tried to exhale the anxiety that wrapped around him. The moon was high in the sky by the time the fireworks started. He wouldn't have stayed if it wasn't for Tina's excitement of the dragons and fireworks.

They both sat in the grass, staring up the colorful blasts of color that showered over them. Tina gently nudged Gavin with her elbow. "You ready to go home?" She tilted he head to the side.

"Yeah, but I don't want to take you away from the celebration until you're done." Gavin replied, bringing his legs in so that he was sitting cross-legged.

Tina stood and extended her hand in a helping gesture. "C'mon, I think it's time to go, you've had enough for the day." She smiled.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

Gavin accepted her hand and stood. They began to make their way back to the village, looking over their shoulders every now and again to catch glimpses of the remaining fireworks. Their loud booming washed over them, and slowly dissipated as they traveled further and further.

The night was cool and the stars were bright, they seemed as though they could outshine the full moon itself. As the distance increased between them and the ceremony, Gavin become more at ease. He was increasingly ready to shed his armor and climb right back into bed and not think about what he had to do in the morning.

Daylight would soon wash over the land and Gavin and Hank's adventure would begin at the very peak of dawn. Gavin was quiet most of the trip home, a mix of being tired and stressed. Tina had no opposition to traveling in silence, soaking in the sounds of the cicadas and crickets around them. Along with the gently rush of wind through the grass.

Gavin walked Tina to her house first and before he got a chance to run off back to his place, she spoke up.

"Hey!" She said to catch his attention. He turned around to face her. "Good luck on your journey tomorrow!"

"I'll definitely need it, so thanks." He responded back to her, then to his house he went. He shoved open the wooden door of his house, shucked off his armor, not even bothering to put on pants. He simply left his armor in a pile on the floor and slipped into his blankets with only his boxers.

Gavin let out a deep breath, closing his eyes, so ready for the sweet surrender of sleep to take over. He waited and then he waited some more, but nothing happened. He tossed and turned and ended up staring at his ceiling in a sign of defeat. He was going to have an early morning in just a few ours and the sweet minutes kept slipping through his fingertips.

After three hour of trying to sleep, he let out a groan and sat up. He could practically feel the bags forming under his eyes. He stood and paced around his house. He had been so tired at the ceremony, but the moment his head hit the pillow it's like the sleepiness hit the road. It was that dumb feeling keeping him awake. Some kind of excitement, but he couldn't discern if it was positive or negative.

Mental visions of the day to come filled his exhausted mind while he continued to pace around his room. What if something went wrong? What if Rosalie was wrong in choosing him and Hank is the true Rider? The questions swirled in his mind one after the next. He just knew he wasn't cut out for the part of Dragon Rider, but something deep inside of him, no matter how many negative thoughts surfaced, told him to keep moving forward.

He flopped back down on his bed and cocooned in the blanket. It wasn't the softest, but it was better than nothing. When his eyes began to flutter close, he saw a flash of blue filled his his mind, more clear than a thought, but couldn't quite be seen. It was a vision of sorts. Gavin sat up quickly and looked around the room. Could it really have just been in his mind? Or was there something more?

He walked over to his window, just a little ways from his bed, and pushed open the wooden slats that swung into the outside wall. There was nothing that would have caused the glow. It was just a calm, peaceful night out there. No one was aware of his internal struggle but himself and it made him feel alone.

He sat on a small stool next to the window and rested his elbows on the windowsill, gazing whimsically at the sky. He was waiting for the next flash of blue to come around. Little did he know it wouldn't, but nonetheless he tried and anticipated it until he passed out, head rested in his folded arms. All while the soft wind was rustling his hair in a calming way.

The dawn was swift and relentless as a harsh heat rose with the morning. Gavin slowly lifted his head, and lo and behold, there was Hank, fully armored with a large pack hung over his shoulder by a strap. Gavin lowered his head back down and groaned. He didn't feel rested at all.

"Come on, I don't have time to wait for you." Hank huffed.

"You will anyways." He slumped out of his chair and walked over to his armor strewn across the floor and began to dress.

"Do you have _anything_ packed?" The older knight questioned as he leaned on the windowsill, eyes shifted away from Gavin as he dressed. "Well, I figured you'd be unprepared, so I packed double food and water." He said as he shifted the pack on his shoulder.

"I'm not unprepared." Gavin said, trying to put his boot on while standing up, resulting in his hiking his boot up while hopping on one leg. He did the same thing with the other boot. "I'm just a little late preparing that's all."

"So you're unprepared." Hank sighed running his hand over his face in annoyance. "Just hurry up and get out here so we can be on the way. It's a three hour hike to get to the mountains, then another three hours to get to the highlands."

"That seems like a lot of walking." Gavin said as he put his shoulder pads on.

"Yeah, no shit." Hank replied.

Once Gavin was ready, the two began on their journey, fighting against the ever increasing incline of the ground and the brutal rays of the sun. He wondered why there wasn't some kind of crash course on what he was supposed to be doing, but he guessed he was going to have to do things right the _first_ time, lest anything go awry.  
  
"Ever hear the legends of these mountains?" Hank questioned as he shifted his eyes over to Gavin. His voice was low, almost a hint of concern showing through. Gavin brushed it off as no more than his imagination, but when Hank spoke, it gave rise to fear.

"They say Non-Riders can't enter these mountains. Something about that magnetic feeling we both felt. It's like a key. Everyone else just gets lost and confused. They can never make it to the highlands and some don't make it back."

"What if I'm not a real Rider?" Gavin questioned as he furrowed his brow. "What if _I_ don't make it back?"

"You'll be fine." Hank said with confidence. "As long as we don't stray too far from one another we'll both be fine." He chuckled. "I mean, what are the odds that Rosalie chose two duds." There was a trail that they walked along, but as they went further it dissipated and they were on their own as far as directions go. "The real issue I'm worried about is getting by ass charred off."  
  
"No doubt." Gavin huffed.

Clouds began to form in the sky further on into the day and it gave some well welcomed shade. After the third hour of climbing uphill, they rested next to a few large rocks, trees reaching their branches overhead. Gavin was tempted to just lay down and take a nap right then and there, but he knew they had much further to go.

Gavin leaned against the large boulder and let his eyes drift close. He didn't realize he had fallen asleep until Hank shook his shoulder.

"Wake up sleeping beauty, it's time to keep going." Hank stood over Gavin, waiting for the younger Knight to get up.

"Five more miniutes..." Gavin trailed off, closing his eyes once more.

Hank scooped him up under his arms and brought him to his feet, giving him no other choice but to stand. Damn he was strong, Gavin felt like a ragdoll there for a second. Gavin adjusted his feet on the ground and shuffled for a moment, trying to regain his balance.

Hank froze, then slowly looked around. There was this indescribable feeling that washed over him, and by the look on Gavin's face, he could feel it too. It was like fire in the both of them, yet it didn't burn. Something deep from the very soul of the two. After a few more moments of silence, Hank spoke.

"They know we're coming."


	10. The Lost

  
"How do they know?" Gavin furrowed his brow, looking at Hank quizzically. His hands were on his hips. How could they sense them? Did it mean they were close? How could it? They were still three hours away from the highlands.

"You're guess is as good as mine. But I'm assuming it's because they can sense our souls." Hank paused as he walked ahead of Gavin, leading the way. "You remember that magnetic repulsion you felt with the other dragons?" He questioned the red knight.

"Yeah?" Gavin replied.

"It's like that, only in reverse. I think we'd be best off following the instinct."

"What about the Grobble Hoppers?" Gavin questioned.

"The fuckin'_ what _?"

"Those damn soul sucking reptiles." Gavin crossed his arms and stopped walking in protest of going any further. "I'm not about to live out my afterlife in the gut of some creature."

"You know that's a myth, _right _?" Hank's voice was low, in a you-gotta-be-kidding-me way. He stopped his stride and turned back to face the younger knight.

Gavin threw his hands up in defense. "I just don't think this journey is worth it." He lowered his arms slowly as he looked away. "We're either going to get lost, killed, or have our souls slurped down like boba!" He looked Hank directly in the eye. "I'd rather give my life on the battlefield then be some Knight that couldn't even make it back from a mission."

"You don't get that _choice_." Hank's voice was now showing signs of rising tension within him. "You think I want to be here? Huh? You think that I want to risk my life for some...some lizard!?" His voice boomed between the mountains that surrounded them.

"Okay! Fine! You do whatever you need to do to calm the hell down, but I'm going my own way from this point forward!" Gavin huffed in annoyance as his eyes pierced into Hank's. "I'm gonna find that lizard first!" He knew he just completely contradicted himself, but his urge to be better than Hank took him over.

"What happened to you wanting to go home?" Hank inquired.

"I don't know!" Gavin exclaimed. He did know, but he certainly didn't want to share it with Hank. There was a long silence between the two and one could feel the tension in the air. "I just know I could do this mission better than you!" There, he shared it.

"Really?" Hank shook his head. "Really?" He paused. "We're supposed to do this mission together or we're going to get killed. We have the opportunity to watch each others backs. Other's don't get that kind of chance." He sighed. "Look, we don't need to go separate ways, we can work this out. If we were chosen by Rosalie, that means there's something special in store for us." He said, reasoning with Gavin, but deep down he knew that he was trying to convince himself to move forwards.

"Fine." Gavin sighed. "Fine. We'll stick together." The tension between the two dropped and they continued on their way. There was still a fear between the two of not making it back to the village, but they had to have hope that something was going to pull through for them.

Another three hours past, then another two on top of that, then another two. Hank knew that there was something wrong. "We should have reached the highlands by now." 

"What happened do going by instinct?" Gavin said, almost mockingly. He was now the one holding the pack over his shoulder and it was rather heavy.

Hank let out a deep breath. "I don't know." He began. "It was supposed to lead us to where we needed to go, but this feeling." Hank placed a hand on his own chest. "It's dissipating, almost like we're further than we were before."

"Great." Gavin began. "So we're lost."

"I didn't say that."

"But you don't know where we are." Gavin looked up at Hank. "So that means we're lost."

"Okay, we're a little lost." Hank replied.

"How can you be a little lost? Are there varying degrees or some shit?"

"Yes, there are, for your information." The older knight huffed.

Just as the two fell silent, there was a deep feral sounding grumble that turned into a growl. The two quickly drew their swords and turned back to back. There was nothing in their sights, but the sound didn't seem to come from very far away. Then, they heard it again, and both sets of eyes shot upwards towards the sky to see something in between a dragon and a toad hovering above them with small red wings.

"Oh no." Gavin gulped and almost dropped his sword. "That's a grobble hopper!"

Hank was in absolute shock and horror to see the creatures long tongue extend from it's mouth as it lowered down towards them. "That's definitely not the dragon we need to find!" The two quickly ran in opposite directions, leaving the grobble hopper to turn towards Gavin and chase him rather than Hank.

"No no no no NO." Gavin said, hauling ass to where he assumed would lead out of the mountains, but moments later he ended up running in the opposite direction back towards Hank. These mountains really did get people turned around.

"Fight or die Gavin!" Hank yelled to the younger knight as he unsheathed his sword with a surprising amount of grace as he pointed towards the creature. It's eyes were solid white, without pupils, tongue hanging out of it's mouth and curling in on itself.

"Don't let the tongue touch you!" Yelled back at Hank. Gavin readied his sword as well. There was something about the creature that Hank had missed. At the tip of the tongue there was a suction cup-esque grabber that was currently inching itself towards The older knight.

Gavin stood behind the creature, jumping up and trying to land a blow on the flank, but alas, it was too high for him to even be trying. As the beast lowered, Hank backed away slowly and Gavin finally struck the creature, leaving a slice that dripped crimson.

The beast roared loudly and turned around in an instant, solid white eyes somehow peering into his very being. Gavin quickly jumped back, heart racing in his chest. This wasn't just a fight of life or death, this was a fight for his soul. He swallowed hard and aimed for the creatures tongue, trying to chop it off. However the flying behemoth was too quick for him as it buzzed around like a large fly. He had no idea how wings that small could get the damn thing off the ground.

Gavin's eyes widened as the tongue came at him at lightning speed, he screwed his eyes shut, knowing his fate in that instant, and when he heard the tongue hit the metal...He...didn't feel anything? He opened his eyes to see Hank had taken the blow for him. The Grobble Hoppers tongue was dead center of his chest. Gavin took the opportunity to slice the creature's tongue in one swift motion.

The beast retreated and Hank fell to the ground, lifeless, hitting the earth with a sickening thud. Gavin was frozen in place as he stared at Hank. There was no doubt about it, he had his soul taken by the beast. He fell to his knees beside the older knight and began to shake him, but nothing.

"Come on, Hank! Wake up!" He called, placing his ear to Hank's chest, trying to listen for breathing, but there was none. Gavin's heart sunk deep into his stomach as his shoulder's lowered along with his brows. This couldn't be it, could it?

"You've got a dragon out there that needs you!" He shook him again, but there was no response. "You're pretty selfish if you think you can just die on me like this!" About twenty seconds late, Hank gasped for air, gripping the grass tightly in his fists.

The older knight coughed heavily and slowly sat up, hand on his head. "What the hell?" His eyes were shut tightly and his head was throbbing like no ones business. His eyes felt like he'd not blinked for several hours and burned greatly. His entire body felt like it had been through one hell of a battle even though he'd only fallen.

"Thank the Gods." Gavin whispered under his breath, not quite loud enough for Hank to hear. "I thought you were going to leave me on this journey alone." He paused. "But I don't understand... Why didn't your soul get taken by that thing?"

"Don't have one to give, kid."

Gavin stared at him in disbelief before Hank let out a roar of laughter. "I'm just fucking with you." Hank paused. "It's probably because of the armor, helped keep the thing from plucking my soul out."

Gavin groaned loudly and stood. "You're such a pain in the ass."

"Hey, I almost died, cut me some slack!" Hank retorted, slowly staggering to his feet.

Another roar sliced through the air, something much deeper and more guttural than the Grobble Hopper's. It sounded ten times louder than a lions, and ten times more frightening. Hank and Gavin looked at each other then back towards the horizon. Gavin was the next to speak.

"I think I know where our dragons are."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment if you like the story! Comments fuel my motivation!


	11. The Found

  
The two eventually discovered the highlands, after another three hours of searching. Their legs were tired and the sun was dipping closer and closer to the horizon. The rays of light washed over the land, creating a golden hue to the atmosphere. It was a calm and serene tone, something out of dream.

A feeling washed over both knights. A feeling something close to finding something dear that was once lost. A feeling kin to love, but deeper in the heart. They knew they were drawing closer to the dragons, but within the feeling of anticipation, there was fear. A fear of rejection. What if the bond didn't work?

Gavin's feet felt as though they were made of lead as they trekked through the grassy highlands. His mind didn't want to go any further, but his heart was dragging the rest of him along. Hank on the other hand was a bit braver, not faltering in his gait as he marched towards the highest hill.

A low trill reverberated through both of their chests, like the rapid beat of a drum. Before another second could pass, that signature shimmer of blue flashed before Gavin's eyes, only this time it was captured in within the eyes of a grand beast. A dragon.

Light blue scales shimmered in the sunset as the dragon ascended up the hill and into full view of the two knights. It was only a mere second later that a second, slightly smaller, but almost identical dragon rose from behind the hill, beautiful hazel eyes finding their way to Hank's blue one's.

The larger dragon flared his wings, threw it's head forward and let out the loudest roar that either knight had ever heard. They quickly covered their ears to shield from the sheer force of power that erupted from the beast mouth. Gavin and Hank slowly backed away from the dragons, then decided it best to stand their ground. There was no point in trying to out run something of such size.

Both dragons lowered their heavily horned heads, mirroring each other as they approached their respective knights. Gavin's heartrate picked up in speed the closer the larger of the two behemoths got closer to him. He raised his hand, unsure if he did so out of defense or out of curiosity of touching the creature. However, his other hand lingered over the hilt of his sword.

The dragon's eyes drifted towards the hand over the sword and it's pupils turned to slits, snarling and showing it's dagger-like teeth. However when Gavin moved his hands away from the sword, the dragon returned to a calm disposition.

"Don't you dare draw your sword." Hank whispered. "You'll get us both killed." He paused. "You're a little to high on your pedestal to think you can win a fight between these two."

"I wasn't going to draw it. It's just a nervous habit." Gavin's eyes flickered between Hank and his dragon. "I think they're twins."

"Yeah, no kidding."

"You think that's why we were both picked?" Gavin questioned, looking into the icy blue eyes of his dragon.

"Is this really the time to be having this conversation?" Hank huffed.

"Right, right." Gavin whispered and took a step forwards, holding his hand out once again to urge the dragon to come towards him. "That's it, come on." He said as the beast slowly and curiously walked towards him. The smaller dragon followed suit and began approaching Hank.

"Haha, mine's bigger."

"Shut up, Reed."

Gavin began walking towards his dragon and a magnetic feeling began to rise in his gut. Just as he had been repulsed from the other dragons, he found one that he was pulled towards. It felt...natural. It felt like this was how it was supposed to be. Once he started to feel the magnetism, he lost all fear and apprehension. His only care was coming in contact with his dragon.

The moment Gavin's hand touched the dragon's snout and the dragon closed it's eyes, an energy shot through Gavin's body. It was a feeling like no other. It was like finding himself, falling in love, and having his eyes opened for the first time for the things unseen in the world. He swore his heart stilled when the dragon opened it's blue eyes and met with his.

Everything made sense, why he was there, what brought the two of them together, why he was chosen to be a rider. It was all there. It filled his heart with comfort, leaving no room for fear or doubt. It was like standing before a deity, strong and unwavering.

Then, he felt it. Somewhere in his mind he heard a brief voice, only one word was said, but he instantly knew it came from the dragon, and it was the dragon's name.

_Nin'everia'tothuel_

Gavin had the name imprinted on his heart, but the poor man couldn't even begin to pronounce it past the first syllable. It had a sort of draconic ring to it the way his dragon pronounced it and no matter how many times he stuttered over his tongue, he couldn't get the name out.

"N-Nines?"

The dragon purred in acceptance, and blinked slowly. Gavin ran his hand over the iridescent scales. They were smooth when rubbed one way, but prickly when rubbed the other way, much like a lizards. It dawned on Gavin this was the very first time he'd ever touched a dragon. It was nice.

Then, it was Hank's turn. The older knight approached his dragon, and sensed the same magnetic force drawing him in. It felt safe and secure, and quite frankly, it felt like home. He let his hand fall gently against the dragon's snout and blue eyes met hazel once more, but this time there was something different about it. It was almost as if they could see into the very depths of the others soul. Then it clicked, and he knew there was a bond rising between the two of them.

Hank's dragon tilted it's head to the side, eyes still fixed on him, and deep in Hank's heart he heard the name of his dragon.

_Khon'eir_

Which Hank heard most closely as. "Connor." Hank said softly, stroking the dragon's cheek.

Hank's dragon trilled happily in acceptance of his name, albeit altered a bit, but loving it none-the-less. The older knight felt as though he knew his place in the world in that moment of bonding with his dragon. He knew this is how it was meant to be. How it was always meant to be.

Of course, this lovely moment was interrupted by none other than Gavin who peered at the undercarriage of his dragon and declared. "Ohh, _mine's_ a lady." Nine's huffed at Gavin's indignant behavior.

Hank snapped out of his moment and ran a hand down his face. "Gavin, your dragon's male."

"Prove it."

"I'm not explaining dragon anatomy to you." Hank sighed. "Just trust me on this one."

"I mean, look how pretty _she_ is."

Nine's trilled at the compliment and gently nudged Gavin with his snout.

Connor watched the two closely, then pressed his large snout against Hank's chest. To be quite honest, other than the encounter with the grobble hopper, this mission had gone rather smoothly. Both Gavin and Hank were very thankful for that. Hank rolled his eyes at Gavin and gently stroked his dragon's long horns.

"How old do you think they are?" Gavin questioned absentmindedly as he admired Nine's scales.

"I have no idea." Hank began. "Older than me, probably. It takes these guys years to mature."

The sun was now setting beyond the horizon, and the golden color that once painted the land was fading into a dark purple, then into black. Only the stars and the moon gave light onto the ground and both Gavin and Hank knew they were going to have to wait until morning to travel back.

The two dragons laid down in a circle, encompassing both Gavin and Hank. They laid down near the head of their respective dragon's and just spent a bit of the night gently talking to them. The way both Nines and Connor were so gentle was something not to be overlooked. A beast of such size could easily have finished them off. But yet, their bonded dragons treated them as though they were an extension of themselves.

The crickets were chirping loudly, but not loud enough to keep Hank from falling asleep against Connor. The night was warm and resting against the cool scales of a dragon felt comforting. Connor closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep while listening to the gentle snores of his companion.

Nines stayed awake longer, keeping watch other both of their new soul bonds. He could sense something was coming, but he was unsure of what. Gavin could feel his discomfort, but didn't quite know what to do to soothe him.

Gavin sat up slightly, leaning his back against the Nines' cheek, reaching back slightly to caress his snout in an attempt to calm him. Then Gavin softly said something that neither of them would ever forget.

"You are mine, and I am yours."


	12. The Hunted

  
The night was silent, until the blast of horns could be heard over the horizon. Nines' head shot up towards the bellowing noise. Connor's eyes were just beginning to drift open and Nine's nudged him further awake. As Connor lifted his head, he could see a crowd of people coming over the hill, large torches held in their hands, along with weapons and ropes.

Without another thought, the two dragons jumped up and grabbed their respective knights in their claws. Gavin and Hank were half asleep when they found themselves in the hands of their dragons. Hank could have swore he almost had a heart attack when he looked down to see the ground fleeing away from him.

Gavin on the other hand, just started screaming, hitting Nines' claws, trying to get free, but Nines' only held onto him tighter, knowing there was no way he would drop his knight. Gavin stopped to catch his breath and took a moment to realize he was flying for the first time. It was terrifying and he was at the mercy of Nines' grip.

"What the hell's going on?" Hank yelled up at Connor who looked down at him and gave a distressed groan, trying to communicate to Hank that something was terribly wrong. Hank looked down to see the mob of people and instantly realized what was going on. There wasn't supposed to be anyone else in these mountains or highlands. Meaning they must have been followed.

Connor roared as an arrow hit his flank. He picked up the speed and a few flaps of his wings later and they were disappearing into the clouds. The moon was full and gently reflecting off of the clouds. Had they not been in danger, the moment would have been serene.

Nines' looked back at Connor for a moment before banking to the right, Gavin hanging like a ragdoll in his grip. Connor on the other hand, held Hank a bit more gently, making sure he was as comfortable as he could be for being in his claws that is.

"Are you okay?" Hank questioned as he looked back at the large arrow sticking out of Connor. The dragon let out a low trill, letting him know he was alright, but he didn't take his eyes off of Nines, watching his every move and following with every turn he made.

The two dragons eventually found a cave, just below the clouds and hovered for a moment before letting their back legs hit the ground before carefully placing their knights down on their feet. Once the knights were a safe distance away, the two dragons fell on their front feet, resuming their typical posture.

"Who were those people?" Gavin questioned, heart still low in his stomach from the fear he felt while being so high in the sky. "Why did they follow us?" His eyes were flickering between Hank and the dragons.

"I think they were after our dragons." Hank said lowly as he walked up to the arrow deep within Connor. Hank gave the wooden shaft of the arrow and Connor let out a deep whine. "I know buddy, but we've got to get it out." He gave it another hard tug and it slid out with blood trailing after it. Connor whined again, shaking his large head. Hank patted his scaly side in apology.

"But they've got some fuckin' nerve shooting at my dragon." Hank huffed, throwing the bloodied arrow down to the side.

Gavin staggered around a bit, trying to get his land legs back. He placed a hand on Nines' side to stabilize himself. "If they got into the highlands, then the other dragons are at risk." He his free hand through his hair. "Most humans aren't supposed to get this far into the mountains." He paused, realizing they had no idea where they were. "How are we going to get back? We're out in the middle of nowhere and these guys don't know where the village is."

"We're just going to have to wing it." Hank replied.

Connor got behind Hank and began nudging him towards the entrance of the cave. Hank walked into the dark cave. Gavin and Nines followed behind them closely. When the light was low enough and they were well hidden, the dragons laid back down, surrounding their knights once more.

The night went by slowly, and none of them got very much sleep. They were all fearful that they would become the hunted if they so much as closed their eyes. By the rise of morning, all of them had dozed off to some extent and light flooded into the cave. Hank opened his eyes and sat up, looking at the sun reflecting off of Nines' scales.

"Gavin." Hank said as he shook the other knights shoulder. "Wake up. We need to get moving."

"Yeah, yeah...I'm awake." Gavin said half-asleep, hair tousled and with eyes barely open he sat up.  
His head felt dizzy from lack of sleep, and he wanted more than anything just to lay back down next to Nines. He certainly didn't want to leave the coolness of the cave either.

Hank reached into the brown sack that he'd been carrying over his shoulder and pulled out a small loaf of bread, handing it to Gavin along with an apple. "You need to eat something to keep your strength up."

"Thanks." Gavin gave a small smile, taking at large bite out of the bread. Nine's looked over his shoulder, cooing lowly and eyeballing his apple as if to say you gonna eat that? Gavin eventually fell victim to Nines' bright blue eyes and tossed the apple up into the air, the dragon's heavy jaws snapping close around it. Gavin wasn't so sure he even chewed it, rather swallowed it whole due to his immense size.

Hank sighed, looking at Connor. "Don't be so jealous, I've got one for you too." The older knight reached into the bag and pulled out another red apple, tossing it into the air. Connor caught it much like Nine's did, only he took the time to chew and actually taste it. The pure strength of both the dragon's jaws were impressive. Hank was glad that they didn't run into any other dragons on the way up.

Gavin stood, and before he was even able to get his barrings, Hank asked. "How about a flying lesson?"

"Flying lesson? These guys already know how to fly." Gavin stated non-nonchalantly, trying to avoid the true message of what Hank had said. They paused for a few moments then Gavin spoke up. "Don't make me bareback this dragon. There's no way I'll survive."

"What? You think he'll let you fall?" Hank questioned, patting Connor on the side of his neck. "I don't think mine will let me fall at least." He reached into the brown sack and pulled out two pieces of long rope. "I didn't have enough room to carry a bridle, so this will have to do." He gave Gavin one of the ropes before tying his piece around Connor's neck, tugging on it to ensure the knot was tight enough. Gavin did the same.

Hank patted Connor on the neck once more, signaling for him to lower his head. He sensed what Hank was meaning for him to do, and lowered his head, allowing the knight to climb up on the back of his neck, being careful of his large horns.

Both knights got a good sense of the dragons' strength when the dragons lifted their heads. The knights could feel the muscles under the scales, but they didn't feel fear of their dragons, only the fear of flying. Gavin more so than Hank.

Gavin was clinging to Nines' neck the best that he could. The dragon's neck was so thick he couldn't reach his arms around it, it was like hugging a tree.

Hank couldn't help but laugh at Gavin's posture. "Come on, don't be so nervous!" Hank tugged on the rope around Connor's neck. "You have to have a little bit of faith in your dragon."

Gavin took a deep breath and sat up, grabbing onto the rope around Nines' neck, giving it a tug much like Hank had done with Connor.

"How are we supposed to steer with this rope?" Gavin questioned pulled on the rope a little harder than he meant to and Nine's went sprinting forwards. Hank let out a loud laugh and followed after him. Nine's skidded to a stop near the end of the cliff, leaving Gavin to hang on to Nines once again.

Connor trotted up next to Nines' and Gavin looked over at the two. "I can't do this. There's no way I'm doing this."

"Look, Gavin." Hank said, his tone a more serious than it had been. "You can do this." He stated. "Nine's isn't going to drop you." He smiled. "It's not just about you staying on the dragon, it's about the dragon keeping you on as well. It's a duel effort."

"Okay." Gavin took a deep breath. "I can do this."

"That's the spirit!" Hank exclaimed. "Now let's get going!" He pulled on Connor's rope and the dragon's strong legs pushed him into the air with ease. The strength of his large wings bellowed wind down on both Gavin and Nines.

"Come on. We can do this."


	13. First Flight

  
Gavin tugged on the makeshift reins and held his breath as Nines leapt over the edge of the cliff. The dragon tucked his wings close to his side as he went into a freefall, leaving Gavin completely breathless as he watched the ground quickly approaching them. With a couple of seconds to spare, Nines opened his wings and shot back up into the sky, through the thick clouds and to the other side.

Gavin felt like his stomach was in his feet. Never had he fallen from such heights before. His heart felt like it stopped for a few moments and he clung to Nines as hard as he could. Why on Earth did his dragon do that if he could sense that he was scared? Frustration then found its way into Gavin's stomach as he pulled on the reins once more.

Nines flew above the cloud and in the distance they could see Hank and Connor, silhouetted by the bright sun. The clouds beneath them seemed like a thick fog just above the ground. It gave the illusion that maybe they weren't so high in the sky and that land was just a little bit below the cloud line.

Nines evened out his fight pattern, a little more gentle this time, allowing Gavin to lean over and run his hand through the clouds. He had always imagined that they felt thicker than they actually were. It was like running his hand through a fine mist. Another beat of Nines' wings and they both were thrust further into the air and closer to the other two.

"Having fun?" Hank hollered from his dragon, placing a hand next to his mouth to try and amplify his own voice.

"You act like you've done this before!" Gavin's knuckles were white from how hard he was holding on to the rope, while Hank was holding on to his rope with one hand, without a care in the world. "How the hell are you so calm?"

"Trust!"

"You've known him for less than twenty four hours!" Gavin yelled back.

"We're bonded, can't you feel their commitment?" Hank questioned.

Gavin paused, moving one hand off the rope and on to the neck on his dragon. Did he feel it? He tried to communicate his feelings to his dragon, but nothing seemed to happen. Was something wrong? Did they not bond correctly?

Gavin watched the way Hank and Connor moved, perfectly in sync with one another, but his dragon seemed to be a little more careless and choose his own path rather than being guided by Gavin. There was definitely something wrong.

"Come on." Gavin tugged the reins. "Lets go this way." But he was ignored and the dragon made his way back towards Connor.

"He's not listening!" Gavin told Hank.

"Guide him with your gut not your mind." Was the best advice that Hank could give him.

Gavin took a deep breath and pulled on the reins once more, this time as hard as he could to get his point across of which direction they should go. But it completely backfired and he ended up losing his balance, sliding off of his dragon.

That moment in the air felt like a hundred years. Everything seemed to go in slow motion. He could hear Hank calling out to him, but his mind couldn't process the words. All that was going through his mind was the fear of hitting the ground far beneath him. It was a sickening feeling to be falling, even worse than what he felt when Nines had bailed off the cliffside. It was a feeling of impending doom that got to him.

He was quickly surrounded by the white of the clouds, mist tickling against his skin, but breath could no longer find its way to his lungs. That is until a heavy set of claws wrapped around him. Gavin hadn't realized it while he was falling, but once he was in the claws of his dragon he realized that he was shaking.

Nines gently placed him down on the cliffside while still airborne, then he landed behind Gavin, letting out a low, sorrowful trill. Gavin couldn't even stand on his feet, he instead fell to his hands and knees, still quivering. Eyes barely able to focus on the ground beneath him. He curled his fingers up against the dirt and small rocks.

"You weren't supposed to let me fall..." Gavin trailed off, staggering to his feet while his eyes were still fixed on the earth below. "I've known you for less than a day and you've already failed!"

Nines' eyes flickered back and forth between Gavin's furious ones not fully understanding what he did wrong. He laid down so that he was more on eye level with Gavin. The dragon's eyes were slowly becoming sorrowful, realizing Gavin's disappointment.

Connor landed back on the mountainside, jolting Hank slightly, but otherwise it was a smooth landing. They were just in time to see Gavin giving Nines' what for about letting him fall. Gavin didn't even know why he was so angry. Maybe he wasn't angry. Just. Confused. Lost and disconnected from his dragon.

"Easy, Gavin." Hank said as he slid of his dragon, walking towards Nines, placing a hand on the dragon's head. "You don't need to be so hard on him."

"I could have_ died _!"

"But you didn't." Hank said quickly.

"And that's supposed to make it any better?"

Hank sighed. "There's obviously something you need to work through to let your dragon in. You're the one that has to figure it out, not your dragon. So don't put it on him to do so." He paused. "I'd start with your temper. Your bond with your dragon is the most important thing you can have in this life other than a partner of course."

Gavin groaned loudly, almost as if he were in pain. He knew that the advice rang true, and that it would be best to follow it. Although, something inside of him was holding him back. He couldn't let go of his anger or his pride and instead of releasing it, he just about overflowed like a boiling pot.

"This isn't going to work, Hank!" Gavin yelled. "If I were a true rider, I wouldn't have fallen off!" He felt shame and discouragement from the incident twisting him up from the inside out.

"You're over-reacting, Gavin."

"He _dropped_ me!"

"He _caught_ you!"

Gavin huffed again. His heart was sinking. He didn't feel the same connection that Hank and Connor had. He knew he didn't. "It's not fair, how in sync you guys moved together. Why don't I get to have that?" His voice was low and saddened.

"I already told you." Hank rested a hand on Gavin's shoulder. "You're not letting him in."

Gavin nodded, then pushed Hank's hand on of his shoulder. "I just need a moment." His shoulders dropped along with his harsh demeanor. He was still shaken up from the fall, but his heart was filled more with concern than it was fear now. "I'm sorry I yelled at you Nines." Gavin said softly, placing a hand on the side of the dragon's face, gently stroking its cheek with his thumb. Gavin then walked into the cave on his own.

The sun that was once beating down on his back was cut off by the cool of the cave. The light flowed in gently from the outside world, illuminating the stalagtites hanging down from the high ceiling.

Gavin pressed his back against the cold stone wall and slowly sunk down until he was sitting on the ground. Why did everything have to be so damn complicated.  
Hank had said that it was a dual effort in keeping the rider on, but why didn't Nines tilt the right way when he tilted as well? Maybe he was putting too much on the dragon, after all, they did only just meet. Maybe the bond would grow over time. Maybe he just had to let Nines in like Hank said...But how?

Gavin wasn't the best at letting people in to begin with, and to let something see into his very heart? Know all of his needs and desires? How was he supposed to feel even the slightest bit comfortable with that? He let out a slow breath and placed his hands on his head. He was going to need to figure this all out, and soon. He didn't want to look like a fool to the people in his village by falling off his dragon again.

He let his head fall back against the hard wall and stared at the ceiling of the cave. Whether he liked it or not, he and Nines were not only bonded, but they belonged to each other. Gavin knew that it wasn't just a one way street, which is why the guilt of him raising his voice at Nines was finally starting to settle in fully.

  
Nines made his way into the cave and laid down next to Gavin, his head near Gavin's legs. He looked up at him with bright blue eyes and Gavin placed a hand on his snout, gently petting. "It's okay, Nines. We'll try again, okay?"

The dragon let out a huff of air through its nostrils, causing Gavin's hair to wave about from the gust of wind the dragon created. It was almost as if he was breathing a sigh of relief that Gavin was no longer upset with him.

"Gavin!" Hank called out. "You're not gonna like this, but we've got company and they don't look too friendly!"


	14. On The Run

"What is it with them and our dragons!" Gavin yelled as he ran to the cliffside. He could see the mob closing in on them, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out what the hell they wanted. Why would they come up into the mountains for these specific dragons and not go after the ones in the village? What was it about these dragons that made people take the risk of getting lost in the mountains?

"We need to get out of here." Hank said, grabbing the reins and mounting Connor. "Think you're up for round two of flying?" He questioned Gavin, and Connor tilted his head to the side, looking at the red knight. Such a curious look.

"Doesn't really look like I have much of a choice." Gavin sighed, grabbing Nines' reins. The dragon lowered his neck so that he could get on with ease. Gavin held on to the rope tightly and took a deep breath. He wasn't going to fall this time. "I need you to work with me, Nines." He said softly, stroking the dragons neck.

Gavin watched as Connor ran towards the the edge of the cliff, strong back legs pushed against the rock to get him airborne. Then a thrust of his wings rose him further into the sky. Connor turned and hovered in place, legs bouncing slightly with every flap of his wings.

Nines followed suit and leapt from the high rock. That first pounce into the air took Gavin's breath away. Nines faced Connor for a moment, then shot up into the sky at a breakneck pace. Connor followed, however he was a little slower.

The wind blew threw Gavin's hair as they passed above the clouds once again. He could not wait to get a saddle and tether on this dragon because being in the air bareback is absolutely terrifying. Gavin felt like he was weightless as Nines dipped down below the clouds then back up again. When they were below the clouds, Gavin could see the crowd of people closing in on the cave, trying to get higher ground to see where the dragons were going.

"How are we going to get home from here?" Gavin questioned loudly.

"Pick a direction and fly." Hank paused. "We can figure out where we are once we get out of these mountains."

Gavin nodded and followed Hank and Connor. This time, he was actually able to get a taste of flying without falling off so quickly. He lifted his head and let the wind wash over him. He welcomed it greatly, the coolness chased off the heat that surrounded them so closely on the ground.

However, Gavin's stomach began to turn, not from the fear of the flight, but for the people chasing after them. They were going to die in these mountains if they didn't find a leader to escort them out. But on the other hand, if they lead them out of the mountains, then they would continue to hunt down Connor and Nines.

It wasn't his fault that these people came into the mountains. They knew the lore and the risk of coming in. If they didn't make it, then it was blood on their own hands not his. He couldn't shake the guilt though. Maybe if they guided them out of a different side of the mountain than what the village was on, maybe they wouldn't have to worry about it.

Gavin decided against that plan and continued to follow the other two above the clouds. Far from view of the ones hunting them down. They flew with the sun at their backs, making it a little easier to see the sky ahead. There were mountain tops that peaked above the fog every now and again, and the clouds beneath them flowed like a river of mist.

It dawned on Gavin that he didn't know if Nines was listening to him on where to go, or if he was simply following Connor. He decided to test it out by tilting slightly to the right, then slightly to the left. Nines didn't move, but instead he sped up. Gavin was a bit disheartened that his dragon didn't bank along with his movements.

"Please listen to me." Gavin said, trying to hold back his aggravation. Nines only growled deep in his chest and reared his head back. Gavin could feel the vibrations from the growl and he couldn't tell if it was just him trying to communicate or if he was mirroring his mood. If he was, that was a good sign, maybe they weren't so disconnected after all. Or maybe Nines was just stubborn.

Gavin closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the movements of his dragon. He tried to focus on opening his heart to his dragon. He focused on their bond, the life they were going to live together, and the moment they met. But nothing seemed to elicited a response. He let his shoulders sink in defeat and let Nines do whatever he wanted as far as flying went.

"Fine." Gavin said throwing his hands up. "Do whatever you want, just don't let me fall again." He quickly grabbed the reins again, realizing he shouldn't have let them go in the first place. Why was is so damn hard to figure this dragon out? What on earth did he want from him?

Hank had it so easy when it came to Connor. The dragon followed all of his movements with ease. You could tell that the two were connected and it brought jelously into Gavin's heart. They were one and him and Nines were not. What else could he do to try and connect?

Gavin's heart was so closed off that no matter what he did, Nines struggled to find his way in. He couldn't hear the heart of his rider and it hurt. It caused a pain in Nines chest that he couldn't quite shake. Something deep within him was telling him that there was something wrong. Something that he couldn't fix no matter how hard he tried. It was up to Gavin to figure out his own heart so that Nines could be let in.

They flew for about an hour and a half before they finally got to the edge of the mountains. The two dragons dipped down below the clouds, their rider's eye searching for any landmarks that would lead them back to the village. There was a tall, pinnacle shaped rock that Hank had insisted they passed on the way to the mountains.

Gavin nodded, putting his trust in Hank, and hoping that he was right to do so. Another half hour passed and they saw the outskirts of the kingdom in the distance. Their village was going to be on the north side. It wasn't too much further until they found home. Gavin's heart rose out of his stomach and he felt so happy to finally see the village once again.

Connor was the first to land on the cobblestone road of the large village plaza and Nines landed right next to him, head bowing and Gavin being throttled from the harsh landing. Many people looked out their windows and stood by their doors, cheering on the new riders. Gavin and Hank waved at the people, feeling a bit famous in the moment.

Tina was in the bakery just a little bit down the road when she heard the commotion and peeked her head out the door to see what was going on. She found that Gavin and Hank had returned and she hightailed it down the road to meet the new dragons.

"They're gorgeous!" She said, almost tripping over herself from stopping from such a fast pace.

"Thanks." Gavin said as he slid off his dragon -this time while on the ground- and greeted his friend.

"What's his name?"

"Nines."

"Why Nines?" She questioned, tilting her head to the side as she squinted at him.

"She told me her name and Nines was all I could make out from it."

Tina quirked a brow. "You know this dragon is male, right?"

"That's what everyone keeps saying! But I checked! There's no-"

"Gav." She interrupted. "They don't _have_ anything on the outside."

Gavin's mouth made an 'oh' shape and he looked towards the ground. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm very sure." Tina replied.

"Okay..." Gavin said, still not completely convinced.

"Anyway." Tina said as she walked over to Connor, running a hand over his side. "Twins?"

"Yeah." Hank said as he dismounted his dragon. "I guess that's why we were both chosen." He patted his dragon's side. "His name's Connor by the way."

"Connor..." Tina said softly as she placed a hand under the dragons chin, looking into his hazel eyes. "I like it." Connor blinked slowly, braying quietly as he gently nuzzled at Tina. Next, Tina looked into Nines' bright blue eyes. It was almost as if she could see something more beyond their eyes. There was something intelligent about these dragons. More so than the average dragon, but neither of the knights or Tina could place it.

Gavin had sensed it early on. Seeing the shimmer of blue in the night. The way Nines' chose his own path rather than listening. He knew that there was something more to these dragons. He just needed to figure out what that something was. But for now, he knew he needed to work on his bond with Nines.


	15. The Waterfall

  
Three days had passed since Gavin and Hank had returned from the highlands. Three days of broken bond between Gavin and his dragon. He decided that he needed a little bit of space from the reptile and trekked out to his favorite waterfall. It wasn't the biggest waterfall, small enough to stand under and have a gentle flow of water wash over.

It was surrounded by many trees and several large rocks in the water created a wall for privacy. Gavin discarded his clothes onto one of the shorter rocks and walked towards the falling stream. He ran his head under the water, running his hands along his neck and shoulders to wash off any dirt.

The water felt nice and cool, a welcoming contrast from the heat of the morning. He let out a sigh and continued washing, thinking about how he was going to reconcile with Nines once he got back. Maybe he could talk to Tina about it first and she could help him come up with a plan. Or maybe this was just something he was going to have to do on his own.

He cupped his hands under the waterfall, catching some and drinking it. It tasted cool and fresh. His eyes were closed up until he heard a loud snort come up from his left side, an area that was uncovered by the rocks. His eyes flashed open and he turned, eyes meeting blue ones that were way too close for comfort. He quickly covered himself.

"Nines! Get out of here!"

The dragon completely ignored him and instead of leaving, he ran his enormous head under the waterfall, purring lowly at the feeling of the water. Nines closed his eyes and lapped at the top of his nose where the water was gathering.

Gavin smacked Nines' side with his free hand a few times. "I said go!" It was barely anything close to what would phase the dragon. Nines simply pulled his head back, opened his eyes and looked down at Gavin, completely innocent.

A blush was now creeping over his face as the two stared at each other. Creature or not, he wasn't comfortable with _anything_ seeing him in this state, especially the dragon he was bonded to. Nines tilted his head to the side, then turned around, laying in the large pool of water, tail thrumming slowly on the surface of the water, creating rings that swiftly swam away.

Gavin quickly finished bathing and didn't even wait to dry off before getting dressed. Once he was in a more decent state, Nines swiveled his neck over his shoulder and eyes found Gavin once more. There was a silence between the two for a minute or so, then Gavin finally let out a sigh before speaking.

"You and me have got to talk."

Nines huffed in response. Gavin couldn't quite interpret what it meant, so he just assumed it meant he was ready to listen.

"You don't listen to me. Ever." Gavin counted on one finger. The second finger was next. "You definitely don't respect personal boundaries." Like that was something that Nines could control. He was just a dragon after all. "And you're not letting me bond correctly with you damn it!" He counted on his third finger.

Another huff from the dragon. Gavin ran his hands through his sopping wet hair then let his arms fall limply down to his side in defeat. "You're not getting any of this are you?" That's when Gavin had a grand epiphany. "The damn thing doesn't know my language." Gavin ran a hand over his face. "I'm an idiot."

Dragons read their riders will by their hearts not their words.

Could it be possible for Nines to learn his language? Maybe that's what they needed to do in order to communicate. But no, what about fixing their bond? There's no way around that. And teaching a dragon a foreign language shouldn't be very high on the list of possibilities.

"We really need to get you a saddle." Gavin said, more to himself than to Nines. There was a dragon saddle shop not too far from the bakery. He'd be able to get a nice one for a couple of gold coins. Hank on the other hand already had his saddle for Connor and the two had spent the last few evenings up in the clouds, just soaring around.

Luckily they didn't have any more run ins with the mob that was chasing after them. Where did they come from? Obviously no one in his village was stupid enough to go into the mountains without being chosen as a rider.

_They chose their own fate._

Gavin thought to himself as he climbed on top of his dragon. His clothes were still sticking to his wet skin and it didn't feel the best in the heat, but at least it helped to keep him cool.

"Now come on, let's go get you a saddle." Again, he was talking when he should have been 'Feeling'. Nines simply shook him off and Gavin hit the ground with a sickening thud. "DAMN IT NINES!" Gavin yelled as he held his shoulder, rolling in pain on the ground from the fall. "That hurt!" He exclaimed. "Do you even care about me?" He was heartbroken at this point and he just got up and began walking away.

"We're getting you a saddle and I'm going to tether my ass to you so you can't shake me off or drop me." Gavin said firmly, staggering up from the ground. His shoulder hurt like hell and he swore it was just a tad bit more force from being dislocated. Luckily the saddle and bridle shop was only about two miles out from Gavin's secret waterfall. The only problem was actually getting Nines to the shop.

"Come on." Gavin said, pulling on the makeshift reins, but the dragon didn't move an inch, he didn't even waver in the slightest when Gavin pulled. It infuriated him to no end. There was one thing that Nines could feel, and it was his frustration.

The dragon barred his teeth and let out a growl, instantly causing Gavin to jump back in fear. Gavin's shoulders dropped. "You really don't give a damn about me." He said quietly, under his voice. He knew the dragon didn't understand his words, but that was the last straw.

"You get one more chance. You fuck it up and you're on your own."

Nines could feel his hurt and let out a small huff, nuzzling Gavin with his large snout.

"Just please. Listen to me for once and follow me." He said softly. "Give me chance, I'm trying."

This time when Gavin pulled on the reins, Nines followed his every step. Gavin smiled up at the beast, proud that he finally listened to him. They trekked through the tall grass that swayed with the wind. His clothes were finally starting to feel dry once they got to the saddle and bridle shop.

He left Nines a little distance away from the wooden door of the shop. There was a small window that could be looked into to see the saddle maker working on a new project. A stone hammer in hand to straighten out the kinks in the metal.

"Hey, Jerry." Gavin said as he leaned against the wooden counter. Jerry moseyed on up to the opposite side of the counter and lifted up his goggles.

"Hey, Gavin! What can I do for you today?" He said cheerfully. His bright orange hair quite the spectacle and rare to find amongst the village. The only others that matched his appearance were his two brothers. They were identical triplets. Jerry, Jeremy, and James. Jerry worked the saddle shop, Jeremy did blacksmithing for armor, and James worked at the bakery.

"I need a saddle for my dragon." He said flatly. "What can I get for three gold coins?" Gavin reached into his pocket and grabbed the coins, letting them clink onto the counter between them.

"I'd say that you'd be able to get a pretty nice one for three gold coins." Jerry smiled, turning around the grab the leather saddle that he had been working on when Gavin came in. "This one comes with adjustable straps so measurements for the dragon aren't needed. It's a one size fits all. So even if your dragon grows, you should be able to have the same saddle!" He rambled on.

It was a nice brown saddle with lighter tan straps, the metal pieces that Jerry had been working on were the base of where the tether went and the bit that fit into the dragon's mouth. The stirrups matched the brown of the saddle and had small metal studs on them.

"Thanks a lot." Gavin said picking up the saddle as Jerry collected the three coins. "I've got to get going before my dragon decides to run away."

"Okay! Have a nice day!" Jerry exclaimed, waving as Gavin exited the small building.

"Alright." Gavin said as he walked up to Nines, who was luckily still there. Nines was laying down next to the village well which made it easy for Gavin to place the saddle on his back. Looping it underneath was another story. The dragon fought against him trying to place the saddle, but Gavin eventually succeeded.

Nines stood and shook like a wet dog, being unfamiliar with the feel of the saddle and bit in his mouth. Nines whined and leaned his head into Gavin once more.

"It'll take some getting used to, but you've got this Nines." He gently stroked the top of the dragon's snout and Nines purred in response. He was rather sweet when he wasn't dropping Gavin or throwing him off his back. Gavin sighed and kissed the dragons nose, quickly looking around to make sure no one saw him.

Nines wasn't perfect, but neither was Gavin. They were going to have to work through their own challenges in order to be able to work together better. But maybe things weren't going to be so bad after all. Now that Gavin had Nines saddled, he was able to put his faith in the tether this time. Maybe this next time he was going to actually _enjoy_ their flight instead of being drenched in fear. After all, one can only hope.


End file.
